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Atkins,  A.  H. , 

The  law  and  the  gospel 


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REV.   A.    H.    ATKINS 


The 

Law  and  the  Gospel 


BY 

REV.  A.  H.'^ATKINS,  B.  A.,  B.  D. 

Pastor  of  the  Danielsville  Presbyterian  Church 

Danielsville,  Ga. 


PRESS  of 

WHITTET  &  SHEPPERSON 

RICHMOND,  VA. 


^0 

Cula  ilubbarb  ^tfeing 

tf)i9>  Volume 

i£(  Hobinglp  ©ebicateb 

P2>  tjje  ^utJjor 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Preface   7 

Thou    Shalt   Have    no    Other    Gods    Before    Me. — 

Exodus   20  :   3 9 

Thou  Shalt  Not  Take  the  Name  of  the  Lord  Thy 
God  in  Vain,  for  the  Lord  Will  Not  Hold 
Him  Guiltless  That  Taketh  His  Name  in 
Vain. — Ex.  20 :  7  17 

Remember  the  Sabbath  and  Keep  it  Holy. — Exodus 
20:  8. 

Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy.  Six 
days  thou  shalt  labour  and  do  all  thy  work.  But 
the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy 
God ;  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  v^ork ;  thou,  nor 
thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  thy  man-servant,  nor 
thy  maid-servant,  nor  thy  cattle,  nor  the  stranger 
that  is  v^rithin  thy  gates.  For  in  six  days  the 
Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea,  and  all 
that  is  in  them,  and  rested  the  seventh  day, 
wherefore,  the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day 
and  hallowed  it. — Ex.  20 :  8,  9,  10,  12 23 

Thou  Shalt  Not  Kill. — Exodus  20 :  13   35 

Thou  Shalt  Not  Steal. — Exodus  20 :  15  42 


Slander.  page 

Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness  against  thy 
neighbor. — Ex.  20 :    16    49 

Regeneration 

Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you  except  a  man  be  born 
again  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God. — John 
3:3  57 

She  Hath  Done  What  She  Could. — Mk.  14:8 68 

For  Ye  Know  the  Grace  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
That  Though  He  Was  Rich,  Yet  for  Your 
Sake  He  Became  Poor,  That  Ye  Through  His 
Poverty  Might  Be  Rich. — H  Cor.  8:9 80 

But  I  Have  Called  You  Friends. — John  15:15 88 

Finally,  Brethren,  Whatsoever  Things  are  True, 
Whatsoever  Things  are  Honest,  Whatsoever 
Things  are  Just,  Whatsoever  Things  are 
Lovely,  Whatsoever  Things  are  of  Good  Re- 
port, IF  There  Be  Any  Virtue,  and  if  There 
Be  Any  Praise,  Think  on  These  Things. — 
Ph.  4:8 95 

Now  Thfy  Do  It  to  Obtain  a  Corruptible  Crown, 

But  We  are  Incorruptible. — I  Cor.  9 :  25 102 

Follow  Holiness  Without  Which   no  Man   Shall 

See  the  Lord. — Heb.  12 :   14   no 

He  Is  Not  Here  But  Is  Risen. — Luke  24 :  6 120 

Train  Up  a  Child  in  the  Way  He  Should  Go,  and 
When  He  Is  Old  He  Will  Not  Depart  from 
It. — Prov,  22 :  6  126 

The  Good  Samaritan. — Luke  10 :  29-37 134 

Historical  Sketch  of  the  Westminster  Assembly..   140 


Preface 

MOST  of  the  sermons  contained  in  this  volume  were 
piibHshed  in  reHgious  and  secular  papers.  They 
were  read  by  some  who,  by  reason  of  sickness 
or  the  infirmities  of  age,  could  not  attend  upon  the  ordi- 
nances of  God's  house.  These  persons  and  many  others 
testified  that  the  sermons  were  a  means  of  great  spiritual 
benefit  to  them.  For  this  reason  the  author  decided  to 
give  them  to  the  public  in  a  more  permanent  form.  He 
desires  to  do  all  the  good  he  possibly  can.  The  embassador 
of  Christ  should,  as  far  as  possible,  preach  the  gospel,  not 
only  with  his  lips  and  his  life,  but  through  the  printed 
page.  Many  are  prejudiced  against  doctrinal  discourses. 
For  this  reason  the  author  has  avoided  the  discussion  of 
doctrinel  One  who  examined  the  manuscript  writes : 
"Your  manuscript  of  sermons  has  now  had  our  thoughtful 
examination  and  consideration.  We  are  pleased  to  note 
that  they  cover  a  very  considerable  range  of  subjects,  and 
deal  with  problems  of  the  christian  life  and  character  in  a 
practical,  straight-forward  and  unequivocal  manner.  He 
who  runs  may  read  the  religious  and  spiritual  principles 
involved  in  these  wholesome  discourses."  As  the  sermons 
in  the  first  chapters  of  the  volume  are  on  some  of  the 
commandments  and  the  other  sermons  are  on  gospel 
themes,  the  author  could  not  think  of  a  better  title  than 
the  one  given  to  it,  viz. :  "The  Law  and  the  Gospel."  It 
is  sent  forth  with  a  sincere  prayer  that  it  may  prove  help- 
ful to  all  who  read  it. 

A.  H.  Atkins. 

Daniehville,  Ga.,  June  28,  1915. 


Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods 
before  Me.-Exodus  20 : 3 

OUR  Saviour  on  one  occasion  called  this 
the  greatest  commandment.  It  is  the  great- 
est commandment  because  obedience  to  it 
includes  obedience  to  the  other  commandments.  He 
who  disobeys  this  commandment  disobeys  the  other 
commandments.  The  first  five  commandments 
teach  us  our  duty  to  God.  The  other  five  our  duty 
to  our  fellow-man.  He  who  does  not  discharge  his 
duty  to  God  fails  to  discharge  his  duty  to  his  fellow- 
man. 

Our  Saviour  again  tells  us  that  this  is  the  first 
commandment.  It  is  the  first  for  antiquity.  Be- 
fore the  moral  law  was  given  this  commandment 
was  given.  Before  the  world  was  created  God 
gave  this  commandment  to  the  angels.  He  did  not 
say  to  them,  "Thou  shalt  not  kill,"  or  "Thou  shalt 
not  steal,"  for  it  was  not  possible  for  them  to  do 
such  things,  but  He  did  say  to  them,  "Thou  shalt 
have  no  other  gods  before  me." 

This  commandment  is  the  first  for  dignity. 
Disobedience  to  this  commandment  is  a  greater 
sin  than  disobedience  to  the  other  commandments. 

The  man  who  kills,  or  steals  commits  a  great 
sin,  but  the  man  who  refuses  to  acknowledge  and 


10  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

worship  God  commits  a  greater  sin.  Sins  against 
God  are  greater  sins  than  sins  against  our  fellow- 
man.  This  commandment  is  first  for  justice.  Men 
may  find  it  difficult  to  see  why  they  should  love 
their  fellow-man  as  themselves,  but  they  will  find 
no  difficulty  in  seeing  why  they  should  love  God. 
Their  conscience  and  their  reason  tell  them  that  they 
should  have  no  other  gods  before  Him.  To  obey 
this  commandment  means  to  love  Him. 

Thousands  fail  to  do  this.  There  is  the  atheist 
who  hates  Him  to  such  an  extent  that  he  would  de- 
throne Him  if  he  could.  There  are  others,  who, 
while  they  do  not  deny  His  existence,  have  no  real 
love  for  Him.  They  never  bow  the  knee  to  Him, 
never  enter  His  house,  never  read  His  Word,  never 
give  to  His  cause,  and  never  speak  a  word  for  Him. 
They  do  not  side  with  the  atheist  against  Him,  but 
they  are  indifferent  to  Him.  They  neglect  Him 
and,  therefore,  have  no  real  love  for  Him.  Then, 
there  are  those,  who,  while  they  do  all  of  these 
things,  do  them  with  no  degree  of  pleasure.  God's 
service  to  them  is  burdensome.  To  obey  this  com- 
mandment means  to  love  God  supremely.  *'Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and 
with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  strength."  How 
many  come  far  short  of  doing  this !  He  who  per- 
mits any  person  or  thing  to  occupy  that  place  in  his 
heart  that  God  should  occupy  fails  to  obey  this  com- 
mandment. 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  ii 

The  children  of  Israel  failed  to  obey  this  com- 
mandment when  th-ey  bowed  down  to  the  gods  of  the 
land.  God  gave  this  commandment  to  them  because 
He  saw  that  there  was  great  danger  of  their  worship- 
ping the  gods  of  the  surrounding  nations.  Some 
worshipped  animals,  others  worshipped  the  moon 
and  the  stars,  and  still  others  worshipped  idols. 
How  many  in  this  age  are  bowing  down  to  false 
gods !  Some  are  worshipping  money.  There  are 
few  things  that  they  would  not  do  to  secure  it.  They 
endure  hardships,  expose  themselves  to  dangers, 
utter  falsehoods,  steal  and  even  commit  murder  in 
order  to  get  money.  It  is  only  necessary  for  one  to 
glance  at  secular  papers  in  ord^r  to  see  what  great 
sins  men  commit  in  order  to  come  into  possession 
of  money.  Men  who  have  been  for  years  respected 
and  honored  and  trusted,  commit  robbery  in  order 
to  secure  money.  Their  god  is  wealth.  Others  are 
worshipping  the  favor  of  man.  They  are  willing  to 
incur  the  disfavor  of  God  in  order  to  secure  the 
favor  of  man.  They  are  exerting  themselves  to 
the  utmost  to  attain  honors.  They  jeopardize  their 
lives,  and  bribe,  and  utter  falsehoods,  and  do  worse 
in  order  to  attain  fame. 

The  conduct  of  Cook  is  an  illustration  of  what 
men  will  do  to  secure  fame.  Worldly  pleasure 
is  the  god  of  many.  They  would  sacrifice  reputa- 
tion and  character  rather  than  give  up  certain 
worldly  pleasures.     They  engage  in  pleasures  that 


12  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

they  know  the  Bible  teaches  are  sinful.  It  is  pos- 
sible for  men  to  make  a  god  out  of  innocent  pleas- 
ure. If  we  enjoy  it  to  the  neglect  of  our  souls  we 
worship  it. 

Many  worship  sensual  pleasure.  The  drunkard 
loves  strong  drink  more  than  he  loves  himself,  for 
he  indulges  in  it  when  he  knows  that  he  is  bringing 
suffering  upon  himself.  He  loves  it  more  than  he 
loves  his  family,  for  he  knows  that  by  indulging 
in  it  he  brings  want  and  suffering  upon  them. 
Sins  of  the  flesh  are  the  god  of  the  lascivious  per- 
son. He  indulges  in  such  sins  when  he  knows  that 
God  has  declared  that  no  whoremonger  shall  enter 
the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Many  a  man  worships  himself.  He  thinks  that 
no  one  is  equal  to  himself  in  reputation,  in  char- 
acter and  in  things  that  pertain  to  this  world.  He 
burns  incense  to  his  deity  and  expects  others  to  do 
the  same.  God  gives  some  reasons  why  we  should 
have  no  other  gods  before  Him. 

I.  Because  He  is  God.  He  is  the  source  of  all 
existence  and  of  wisdom  and  power.  He  is  infinite 
in  wisdom,  power,  justice,  goodness  and  truth.  He 
is  the  all-wise,  all-powerful,  all-sufficient,  eternal. 
Omnipresent  and  Omniscient  God — the  King  of 
kings  and  Lord  of  lords. 

Exceedingly  foolish  then  are  men  when  they 
prefer  to  worship  things  that  perish  to  worshipping 
the  great  God. 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  13 

11.  Another  reason  that  God  gives  why  we 
should  have  no  other  gods  before  Him,  is  be- 
cause He  is  oitr  God.  *'I  am  tJiy  God,"  He  declared 
to  the  children  of  Israel.  He  substantially  said  to 
them,  *M  sustain  a  relation  to  you  that  I  do  not 
sustain  to  any  other  nation.  The  covenant  I  entered 
into  with  your  fathers  I  entered  into  with  you.  Not 
only  did  I  obligate  myself  to  do  certain  things  but 
you  obligated  yourselves  to  do  certain  things.  You 
said,  'AH  that  the  Lord  has  said  we  will  do.'  If 
then  you  worship  other  gods  you  fail  to  fulfill  very 
solemn  obligations. 

1.  He  is  ours  by  creation.  Should  we  blaspheme 
Him  with  the  lips  that  He  created  ?  And  should  we 
use  our  hands,  and  our  feet,  and  our  talents,  and  our 
time  in  the  service  of  Satan  His  enemy?  If  chil- 
dren should  serve  their  parents  much  more  should 
we  serve  the  One  who  created  our  bodies  out  of  the 
dust  of  the  earth  and  breathed  into  our  nostrils  the 
breath  of  hfe. 

2.  He  is  ours  by  preservation.  Had  He  not  pre- 
served us  we  would  have  long  since  passed  into 
eternity.  Indeed,  our  souls  would  have  long  since 
perished.  The  air  that  we  breath,  the  clothes  that 
we  wear,  and  the  food  that  we  eat  are  His  gifts. 
Should  the  horse  that  you  feed,  and  the  servants 
that  you  feed  and  clothe  and  train,  serve  you  ?  Much 


14  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

more  should  we  serve  the  One  who  not  only  created 
us,  but  who  preserves  us. 

3.  He  is  ours  by  redemption.  He  has  done 
more  for  us  than  He  did  for  the  children  of  Israel. 
He  brought  them  from  under  the  bondage  of  thi 
Egyptians.  He  has  brought  us  from  under  the 
bondage  of  sin  and  Satan.  He  gave  up  His  only 
begotten  Son  to  die  for  us  "that  He  might  redeem 
us  from  all  iniquity  and  purify  unto  Himself  a 
peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works." 

We  were  bought  not  with  corruptible  things, 
such  as  silver  and  gold,  but  with  the  precious  blood 
of  God's  Son. 

Both  our  bodies  and  our  souls  have  been  re- 
deemed by  reason  of  the  obedience  and  death  of 
the  blessed  Son  of  God.  Should  we  not  use  them 
in  His  service?  Let  us  examine  our  hearts.  Are 
we  worshipping  any  of  the  gods  that  have  been 
mentioned?  God  help  us  to  have  no  other  gods 
before  Him. 

HL  Another  reason  we  find  in  God's  Word 
why  we  should  not  worship  false  gods  is  because 
they  are  nothing — vanity.  Isaiah  calls  them  the 
vanity  of  the  nations.  Moses  declared  that  they 
could  neither  speak,  nor  eat,  nor  see,  nor  smell. 
Isaiah  declared  that  eyes  they  had,  but  they  saw 
not ;  ears  they  had,  but  they  heard  not ;  mouths  they 
had,  but  they  spoke  not.     The  false  gods  that  have 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  15 

been    mentioned — the    things    of    the    world — are 
nothing. 

1.  Because  they  are  transient.  They  change  as 
the  clouds  above  you — not  presenting  the  same 
appearance  from  one  moment  to  another.  The 
thread  that  holds  such  things  may  be  compared  to 
the  thread  with  which  the  spider  weaves  its  web. 
Money  takes  wings  and  flies  away.  Fame  and 
pleasure  are  as  transient.  They  are  here  to-day 
and  gone  to-morrow. 

2.  They  are  nothing  because  they  are  unsatis- 
fying. People  who  enjoy  them  feel  as  did  the  boy 
who,  after  securing  a  nest  by  risking  his  life,  found 
that  it  contained  nothing.  How  empty  are  the 
things  of  this  world !  Solomon  had  all  that  heart 
could  wish.  What  was  his  verdict?  ''All  is  vanity 
and  vexation  of  spirit."  One  of  the  richest  men 
that  ever  lived  declared  that  his  wealth  was  a  source 
of  no  pleasure  to  him.  He  declared  that  while  he 
had  a  fine  house  it  afforded  him  no  pleasure,  and 
that  while  his  table  was  loaded  with  luxuries  he 
could  not  eat  them.  We  think  the  kings  of  the 
earth  are  the  happiest  people  in  the  world,  but  there 
is  much  truth  in  the  words,  "Uneasy  lies  the  head 
that  wears  the  crown." 

IV.  We  should  not  worship  false  gods,  because 
when  we  do  we  reflect  dishonor  upon  the  cause  of 
God.  God's  purpose  in  bringing  the  children  of 
Israel  out  of  Egypt  with  a  mighty  hand  was  that 


i6  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

the  other  nations  might  see  that  He  was  God.  How 
could  they  expect  them  to  see  this  when  they  wor- 
shipped the  gods  of  the  land?  How  can  professing 
christians  expect  the  people  of  the  world  to  be  in- 
fluenced in  favor  of  their  religion  when  they  wor- 
ship the  things  of  the  world?  The  way  to  glorify 
God  is  to  let  their  light  shine.  How  many  people 
are  influenced  to  believe  that  there  is  no  power  in 
the  christian  religion  because  of  the  inconsistencies 
of  professing  christians !  How  many  weak  chris- 
tians are  injured  by  reason  of  their  inconsistent 
walk  and  conversation !  Our  Saviour  pronounced  a 
curse  upon  those  by  whom  offences  come.  The 
Apostle  Paul  declared  that  if  eating  meat  caused 
his  brother  to  ofTend  he  would  eat  no  meat. 

Destroy  not  him  with  your  meat  for  whom 
Christ  died.  Let  your  conduct  be  such  as  that  others 
will  take  knowledge  of  you  that  you  have  been  with 
Jesus. 


Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the 
Lord  thy  God  in  vain,  for  the  Lord 
will  not  hold  him  guiltless  that 
taketh  His  name  in  vain.— Ex.  20 : 7 

LET  us  consider  the  prohibition  and  the  warn- 
ing in  this  text. 
I.  The  prohibition.    "Thou  shalt  not  take 
the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain." 

The  name  of  God  expresses  his  character. 
Therefore,  when  men  speak  lightly  and  irreverently 
of  his  name  they  speak  thus  of  Him.  When  they 
speak  lightly  and  contemptuously  of  their  fellow- 
men  they  insult  them.  Much  more  do  they  insult 
God  when  they  speak  thus  of  Him.  God's  name  is 
that  by  which  He  makes  himself  known.  There- 
fore, when  men  speak  irreverently  of  anything  by 
which  He  makes  himself  known  they  speak  thus  of 
Him. 

God  makes  himself  known  through  His  Word. 
Therefore,  when  men  speak  irreverently  of  His 
Word,  or  jest  about  it,  or  when  they  make  it  ap- 
pear in  a  ridiculous  light  by  putting  a  false  inter- 
pretation upon  it,  they  take  His  name  in  vain.  We 
should  speak  as  respectfully  and  as  reverently  of 
God's  Word  as  we  do  of  Him. 


i8  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

God  makes  himself  known  through  His  provi- 
dential dealings  with  men.  When  they,  therefore, 
speak  lightly  of  such  dealings,  they  take  His  name 
in  vain. 

How  many  do  this !  People  do  not  realize  when 
they  refuse  to  bow  submissively  to  God's  will  that 
they  take  His  name  in  vain. 

God  makes  himself  known  through  the  worship 
of  His  house.  When  people,  therefore,  assume  a 
careless  and  an  irreverent  attitude  during  the  wor- 
ship of  God's  house  they  take  His  name  in  vain. 

If  you  talk  and  laugh  during  the  worship  of 
God's  house,  my  hearers,  you  are  guilty  of  pro- 
fanity. Ministers  who  preach  in  a  way  to  cause 
laughter  in  the  house  of  God  are  greatly  responsi- 
ble for  the  irreverence  shown  at  such  a  time.  The 
house  of  God  is  not  the  place  for  laughter. 

**Keep  thy  foot  when  thou  goest  to  the  house  of 
God,  and  be  more  ready  to  hear  than  to  give  the 
sacrifice  of  fools :  for  they  consider  not  that  they 
do  evil.  Be  not  rash  with  thy  mouth,  and  let  not 
thine  heart  be  ready  to  utter  anything  before  God : 
for  God  is  in  heaven,  and  thou  upon  earth :  there- 
fore let  thy  words  be  few." 

God  makes  himself  known  through  His  church. 

When  men,  therefore,  speak  irreverently  of 
God's  people,  they  take  His  name  in  vain.  A  young 
man  was  once  heard  to  curse  the  members  and  of- 
ficers of  a  certain  church.     God  sent  one  judgment 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  19 

after  another  upon  him,  and  he  is  now  in  his  grave. 
The  man  who  curses  the  people  of  God  may  expect 
the  curse  of  God  to  descend  upon  him.  That  we 
may  see  more  clearly  what  is  prohibited  in  the 
words  of  our  text,  let  us  consider  some  occasions 
on  which  men  use  God's  name. 

I.  They  use  God's  name  when  they  make  a 
public  profession  of  their  faith. 

That  name  requires  them  to  depart  from  ini- 
quity. If  they  fail  to  do  this  they  take  this  name 
in  vain. 

How  many  are  taking  the  name  of  God  in  vain 
by  hypocrisy !  Our  Saviour  declared  that  the  wor- 
ship of  such  people  is  vain.  *'Ye  hypocrites,  well 
did  Isaiah  prophesy  of  you,  saying,  'This  people 
honoreth  me  with  their  lips  ;  but  their  heart  is  far 
from  me.'  "  Isaiah  tells  us  that  the  oblations  of 
such  people  are  vain.  **Bring  no  more  vain  obla- 
tions, incense  is  an  abomination  to  me."  James 
tells  us  that  the  religion  of  such  people  is  vain. 
'Tf  any  man  thinketh  himself  to  be  religious  while 
he  bridleth  not  his  tongue,  but  deceiveth  his  own 
heart,  this  man's  religion  is  vain." 

Many  people  are  taking  God's  name  in  vain 
every  moment  of  their  lives.  Every  time  they  speak 
a  word  or  do  an  act  that  is  unbecoming  in  a  servant 
of  God  they  take  God's  name  in  vain,  since  they  fail 
to  practice  the  religion  they  profess. 


20  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

2.  People  use  God's  name  when  they  enter  into 
a  covenant  with  Him. 

Most  of  us  have  entered  into  a  covenant  with 
Him. 

Members  of  the  church  did  so  when  they  united 
with  the  church,  officers  of  the  church  did  so  when 
they  were  installed  in  their  responsible  offices. 

Parents  did  so  when  they  presented  their  chil- 
dren for  baptism.  Husband  and  wife  did  so  when 
they  were  united  in  the  bonds  of  matrimony.  When 
people  fail  to  keep  these  vows  they  take  God's  name 
in  vain.  "When  thou  voweth  a  vow  unto  God, 
defer  not  to  pay  it ;  for  He  hath  no  pleasure  in 
fools :  pay  that  which  thou  hast  vowed.  Better  is  it 
that  thou  shouldst  not  vow,  than  that  shouldst  vow 
and  not  pay." 

3.  Men  use  God's  name  when  they  swear  by  it. 
It  is  not  wrong  to  swear  by  God's  name ;  provided, 
you  do  so  at  the  proper  time,  or  when  it  is  necessary 
to  do  so. 

The  children  of  Israel  were  required  to  swear 
by  God's  name  at  certain  times.  The  Apostles  did 
so.  Christ  did  so  before  Caiaphas.  God  swore  by 
His  own  name  because  He  could  swear  by  no 
greater.  When  men,  however,  swear  by  God's  name 
when  they  are  not  called  upon  to  do  so,  they  take  it 
in  vain. 

Such  expressions  as  I  declare,  I  vow,  I  swear  are 
profanity. 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  21 

4.  Men  use  God's  name  when  they  swear  by  it 
falsely.  They  do  this  in  courts  of  justice.  They 
do  it  in  private  conversation.  They  then  take  God's 
name  in  vain. 

5.  They  use  God's  name  in  private  conversation. 
When  they  use  it  irreverently  they  take  it  in  vain. 
Such  expression  as  my  goodness,  my  gracious,  good 
Lord,  high  heavens  are  profanity. 

6.  They  use  it  when  they  invoke  God's  curse 
upon  men.  Whether  they  use  God's  name  or  not,  if 
they  invoke  on  men  that  which  only  God  can  send 
on  them,  they  take  God's  name  in  vain. 

The  coiiimandment  reaches  the  thoughts  of  men. 
If  they  think  unkindly  or  irreverently  of  God  they 
take  His  name  in  vain. 

IL  Let  us  consider  in  the  second  place  the 
warning  we  find  in  the  words  of  the  text.  The 
warning  is  that  God  will  not  hold  guiltless  the  man 
who  takes  His  name  in  vain. 

Disobedience  to  this  command  is  a  great  sin. 
The  command  is  in  the  first  table  of  the  law.  The 
penalty  visited  upon  men  for  violating  this  com- 
mand was  death.  The  son  of  the  Israelitish  woman 
who  blasphemed  God's  name  was  put  to  death.  The 
Israelties  regarded  the  sin  such  a  great  one  that 
they  were  afraid  to  use  the  word  Jehovah  in  con- 
versation. When  God's  name  was  taken  in  vain  in 
their  presence  they  tore  their  garments  and  placed 
their   hands   upon   the  person   who   committed   the 


22  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

sin,  thus  indicating  that  he  only  must  bear  the  guilt. 
The  penalty  inflicted  upon  Uzzah,  Uzziah,  and 
Belshazzar  for  this  sin  was  death.  My  friends, 
you  walk  on  dangerous  ground  when  you  take 
God's  name  in  vain.  God  is  just  as  just  now  as 
He  has  ever  been.  He  must  punish  sin  in  order  to 
satisfy  the  demands  of  His  justice  and  in  order  to 
preserve  the  interest  of  His  moral  government. 
While  He  is  merciful,  He  will  not  permit  the  stand- 
ard of  mercy  to  be  planted  upon  the  grave  of  jus- 
tice. "Whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  also 
reap." 


Remember  the  Sabbath  and  keep 

it  Holy.— Exodus  20  :  8 

Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy.  Six 
days  thou  shalt  labour  and  do  all  thy  work.  But  the 
seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God ;  in  it  thou 
shalt  not  do  any  work ;  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter, 
thy  man-servant,  nor  thy  maid-servant,  nor  thy  cattle,  nor 
the  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates.  For  in  six  days  the 
Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  is  in 
them,  and  rested  the  seventh  day,  wherefore,  the  Lord 
blessed  the  Sabbath  day  and  hallowed  it. — Ex.  20:  8,  9, 
10,  12. 

NOTHING  is  more  sadly  neglected  to-day 
than  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  Few 
observe  it  properly.  In  considering  the 
observance  of  the  Sabbath  there  are  two  questions 
we   should   answer : 

1st.     How  should  we  observe  the  Sabbath? 

2nd.     Why  should  we  thus  observe  it? 

I.  How  should  we  observe  the  Sabbath? 

I.  We  should  observe  it  as  a  day  of  rest. 

Six  days  shalt  thou  labor  and  do  all  thy  work. 
The  fact  tliat  the  Lord  rested  on  that  day  is  a  reason 
why  we  should  do  so.  We  should  imitate  His  exam- 
ple. The  words  also  teach  us  that  even  if  we  do 
not  work  on  the  Sabbath,  but  require  our  children  or 
our  servants,  or  our  animals  to  do  so  we  desecrate  it. 


24  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

It  is  never  necessary  for  men  to  work  on  the 
Sabbath  in  order  to  supply  themselves  and  their 
families  with  the  necessaries  of  life.  Had  God 
known  that  it  was  necessary  He  would  not  have 
given  the  command.     He  is  wiser  than  man. 

The  words  do  not  forbid  works  of  mercy  and 
necessity.  Our  Saviour's  words,  "Man  was  not 
made  for  the  Sabbath,  but  the  Sabbath  for  man" 
teach  us  this.  The  Pharisees  had  false  views  as 
to  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  They  believed 
that  the  command  should  be  obeyed  as  to  the  letter — 
that  not  even  works  of  mercy  and  necessity  should 
be  performed  on  the  Lord's  day.  Christ  taught  that 
it  was  lawful  to  do  such  things  on  the  Sabbath — that 
the  spirit  of  the  law  should  be  obeyed.  The  words, 
however,  do  not  teach  that  men  may  do  as  much 
work  and  take  as  much  pleasure  as  they  please  on 
the  Sabbath.  According  to  such  reasoning  we 
would  have  a  right  to  say  that  because  animals  were 
made  for  man  he  may  steal  as  many  as  he  pleases. 
The  Sabbath  is  ours  to  use  lawfully.  Let  us  re- 
member that  we  do  not  do  works  of  necessity  when 
after  we  have  neglected  to  do  certain  things  on 
Saturday,  or  some  other  day,  it  becomes  necessary 
for  us  to  do  them  on  the  Sabbath.  Nor  do  we  per- 
form works  of  necessity  when  we  do  on  the  Sab- 
bath what  we  could  well  postpone  doing  until  the 
next  day. 

2.  We  should  observe  the  Sabbath  as  a  day  of 
worship.     The  shorter  catechism  tells  us  "that  the 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  25 

Sabbath  is  to  be  sanctified  by  a  holy  resting  all  that 
day  even  from  such  wordly  employments  and  recrea- 
tions as  are  lawful  on  other  days  and  spending  the 
whole  time  in  the  public  and  private  exercises  of 
God's  worship  except  so  much  as  to  be  taken  up  in 
works  of  necessity  and  mercy." 

We  are  told  that  the  Lord  hallowed  the  Sab- 
bath day.  To  hallow  means  to  separate  from  a 
common  to  a  sacred  use.  We  do  not  separate  the 
Sabbath  from  a  common  to  a  sacred  use  when  we 
do  on  that  day  works  we  do  on  other  days,  and 
when  we  engage  in  pleasures  on  that  day  that  we 
engage  in-  on  other  days.  Nor  do  we  separate  this 
day  from  a  common  to  a  sacred  use  when  we  fail  to 
engage  in  the  private  and  public  worship  of  God. 
However  much  you  rest  your  bodies  and  your  minds, 
and  however  much  you  refrain  from  engaging  in 
worldly  pleasures  on  the  Sabbath,  if  you  on  that  day 
neglect  the  private  and  public  worship  of  God  you 
desecrate  it.  Since  the  purpose  of  the  Sabbath  and 
the  church  is  the  same — the  spiritual  benefit  of  man 
— it  should  be  kept  as  a  day  of  worship.  Men,  there- 
fore, make  a  mistake  when,  while  they  admit  that 
no  secular  work  should  be  done  on  the  Sabbath, 
claim  that  it  is  lawful  to  engage  in  secular  amuse- 
ments on  that  day.  If  the  interest  of  man's  soul  is 
interfered  with  when  he  performs  secular  work  on 
the  Sabbath,  why  is  it  not  interfered  with  when  he 
engages  in  secular  amusements  on  that  day? 


26  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

II.  Why  should  the  Sabbath  be  observed  as  a 
day  of  rest  and  worship? 

I.  Because  it  is  a  divine  institution. 

If  the  Sabbath  had  been  instituted  by  man  we 
might  do  as  we  please  as  regards  observing  it.  But 
since  God  instituted  it  we  are  under  obligation  to 
STRICTLY  observe  it. 

The  Word  of  God  shows  that  He  instituted  it. 

It  was  the  law  of  Eden.  It  was  observed  in  the 
wilderness  as  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  Israelites 
were  required  to  gather  twice  as  much  manna  on  the 
sixth  day  as  they  did  on  other  days.  Pharaoh, 
in  his  vision,  saw  seven  years  of  plenty  and  of  want. 
Solomon  waited  seven  years  to  build  the  temple. 
Balaam  offered  seven  sacrifices  on  seven  altars.  Allu- 
sions are  constantly  made  to  it.  The  walls  of 
Jericho  were  encompassed  seven  days  by  seven 
priests,  bearing  seven  trumpets,  and  seven  times 
on  the  seventh  day.  The  ark  rested  on  Mt. 
Ararat  in  the  seventh  month.  We  read  of  seven 
churches,  seven  candlesticks,  seven  trumpets,  seven 
seals,  seven  spirits,  seven  angels,  seven  vials  and 
the  seven  last  plagues. 

That  the  Sabbath  was  not  abolished  with  the 
Jewish  ceremonial  may  be  seen  first  by  the  fact  that 
it  was  not  intended  only  for  the  Jews,  It  was  in- 
tended for  every  member  of  the  human  family. 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  27 

Moses  declared  that  it  was  blessed  and  hallowed 
at  the  beginning.  This  shows  that  it  was  intended 
for  all  men.  Our  Saviour  declared  that  it  was 
made  for  man.  The  reason  that  God  gives  why 
the  Sabbath  should  be  observed,  is  because  He 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  in  six  days  and 
rested  the  seventh.  Man  should  rest  on  the  seventh 
day  because  God  did  so.  Is  it  any  more  the  duty  of 
the  Jews  to  do  this  than  other  people?  It  is  the 
duty  of  every  man  to  imitate  the  example  of  his 
God.  Again,  the  fact  that  the  Sabbath  formed  no 
part  of  the  ceremonial  law  of  the  Jews  is  a  proof 
that  it  was  not  abolished  with  it.  The  ceremonial 
law  was  abolished  because  its  types  were  fulfilled. 
But  the  Sabbath  can  form  no  part  of  the  ceremonial 
law  because  its  type  has  not  been  fulfilled. 

Again,  the  Sabbath  was  incorporated  in  the  moral 
law — the  immortal  ten  commandmciits.  The  way  in 
which  this  law  was  promulgated  and  the  place  in 
which  it  was  deposited  show  plainly  that  it  can  never 
pass  away.  It  was  spoken  in  an  audible  voice  by 
God  himself  from  the  summit  of  Mt.  Sinai,  in  the 
presence  of  the  children  of  Israel.  It  was  written 
by  His  own  fingers  on  enduring  stone,  thereby  in- 
dicating its  permanency.  By  the  express  command 
of  God  it  was  placed  in  the  ark  of  the  covenant, 
directly  under  the  overshadowing  mercy  seat — the 
symbolic  throne  of  God,  which  plainly  indicated  that 


28  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

it  was  as  impossible  for  it  to  pass  away  as  it  was 
for  the  throne  of  God  to  fall  into  ruins. 

The  New  Testament  teaches  that  the  Sabbath  law 
is  still  in  force.  It  was  Christ's  custom  to  stand  up  in 
the  synagogues  on  the  Sabbath  to  read  the  Scrip- 
tures. Luke  4:  16 — We  are  told  that  Paul  reasoned 
in  the  synagogue  every  Sabbath.  Acts  18:  4 — He 
went  out  on  the  Sabbath  and  preached  to  Lydia  and 
other  women  at  Philippi.  He  preached  at  Antioch  on 
the  Sabbath,  and  was  asked  by  the  Jews  to  preach  the 
same  words  on  the  coming  Sabbath.  The  same  re- 
gard was  had  for  the  day  when  it  was  changed  from 
the  seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the  week.  Jesus  ap- 
peared to  His  disciples  for  the  first  time  after  His 
resurrection  on  the  first  day  of  the  week.  It  was 
on  the  evening  of  the  same  day  that  he  appeared  to 
them  and  breathed  on  them  the  Holy  Ghost.  It 
was  the  first  day  of  the  week  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  poured  out.  Paul  ordered  collections  to  be 
taken  in  the  church  of  Corinth,  as  he  had  directed 
to  be  done  in  the  churches  of  Galatia  on  the  first 
day  of  the  week.  It  was  on  the  first  day  of  the  week 
that  John  was  rapt  in  an  Apocalyptic  vision  on  the 
Isle  of  Patmos. 

The  sacredness  of  the  day  was  not  at  all  dimin- 
ished, when  it  was  changed  from  the  seventh  to  the 
first  day  of  the  week.  Before  the  change  was  made 
it  commemorated  the  creation  and  the  deliverance 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  29 

of  the  children  of  Israel  from  their  bondage  in 
Egypt.  It  was  proper  and  due  Christ  that  His 
resurrection  should  be  commemorated  by  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Sabbath.  By  the  change,  therefore, 
the  sacredness  of  the  day  was  increased  rather  than 
diminished. 

2.  Another  reason  why  the  Sabbath  should  be 
observed  as  a  day  of  rest  and  worship  is  because 
man  needs  it.  They  who  will  not  admit  that  it  is  a 
divine  institution  admit  that  it  is  highly  necessary 
for  men  to  rest  one  day  out  of  seven.  During  the 
French  revolution  when  infidels  endeavored  to  over- 
throw the  christian  religion,  it  was  found  necessary 
to  set  aside  every  tenth  day  as  a  day  of  rest.  After 
a  time  the  day  of  rest  was  changed  from  this  day 
back  to  the  seventh.  Men  as  truly  need  the  rest 
of  the  Sabbath  as  they  do  the  rest  of  the  night. 
Just  as  they  would  wreck  their  health  if  they  should 
fail  to  take  the  rest  of  the  night,  so  would  they  if 
they  failed  to  observe  the  Sabbath  as  a  day  of  rest. 
It  has  been  discovered  by  experiment,  both  in  this 
country  and  abroad,  that  the  bodies  of  both  men 
and  beasts  last  longer  and  do  more  work  when  they 
rest  on  the  Sabbath  than  when  they  do  not.  Men 
make  a  mistake  when  they  suppose  that  they  gain 
by  working  on  the  Lord's  day.  Just  as  the  traveler 
saves  time  by  resting  at  noon,  and  just  as  the  reaper 
saves  time  by  stopping  to  whet  his  scythe,  so  men 
gain  rather  than  lose  when  they  observe  the  Sab- 


30  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

bath  as  a  day  of  rest.  Your  business  will  never 
prosper  if  you  engage  in  it  on  the  Lord's  day.  If 
your  body  does  not  receive  the  rest  that  God  in- 
tended it  to  have  you  will  soon  be  unable  to  carry 
on  your  business.  Just  as  the  bow  unstrung  soon 
loses  its  elasticity,  so  will  your  body  lose  its  strength 
and  vigor  if  you  give  it  no  rest. 

3.  It  is  to  man's  spiritual  interest  to  observe  the 
Sabbath  as  a  day  of  rest  and  worship.  Man's  soul, 
as  well  as  his  mind  and  body,  needs  the  rest  of  the 
Sabbath.  It  needs  to  rest  from  care  and  anxiety — 
a  time  in  which  to  commune  with  its  God  and  in 
which  to  think  of  things  eternal.  If  it  is  difficult 
for  us  to  advance  the  interest  of  our  souls  when  we 
are  blessed  with  the  sanctifying  influence  of  the 
Sabbath,  how  could  we  do  so  if  we  were  deprived 
of  this  influence?  Experience  teaches  that  the  more 
faithfully  we  observe  the  Sabbath,  the  nearer  we  are 
drawn  to  God.  Besides,  every  one  must  admit  that 
the  friends  of  the  Sabbath  are  the  people  of  God  and 
that  its  enemies  are  the  children  of  the  devil. 
Nothing  proves  more  strongly  than  this,  that  the 
Sabbath  is  essential  to  man's  spiritual  and  eternal 
interest.  Healthy  men  prefer  substantial  food  to 
that  which  is  not.  Accordingly,  the  fact  that  people 
who  are  healthy  spiritually  are  in  love  with  the 
Sabbath  is  a  proof  that  it  is  essential  to  their  growth 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  31 

4.  The  observance  of  the  Sabbath  as  a  day  of 
rest  and  worship  is  essential  to  national  prosperity. 

If  the  morals  of  men  are  not  good  there  cannot 
be  good  government,  and  if  there  is  not  good  govern- 
ment there  cannot  be  national  prosperity.  What 
now  is  more  essential  to  good  morals  than  the  re- 
ligion of  Christ?  If  the  religion  of  Christ  were 
overthrown  this  world  would  be  a  hell.  Murders, 
adulteries  and  thefts  are  committed  now ;  God's 
name  and  Sabbath  are  profaned  now,  but  if  the 
christian  religion  were  blotted  out  of  existence  such 
sins  would  be  committed  as  they  never  have  been 
before. 

But  how  could  the  christian  religion  exist  with- 
out the  church?  And  how  could  the  church  exist 
without  a  set  time  for  the  observance  of  its  ordi- 
nances? The  idolatry  of  the  heathen  would  not  be 
preserved  if  its  rites  were  not  celebrated  at  set 
times.  The  different  orders  would  pass  out  of  ex- 
istence if  they  had  no  stated  meetings  and  no  public 
exhibitions.  The  reason  why  Jewish  feasts  and 
ceremonies  were  appointed,  and  why  there  were  fre- 
quent public  gatherings  was  because  it  was  only  in 
that  way  that  the  Jews  could  preserve  their  religion. 
It  was  when  the  Jewish  altars  were  broken  down 
and  Jewish  festivals  ceased  that  the  nation  lapsed 
into  idolatry.  Just  so,  if  the  church  had  not  a  set 
time  for  the  observance  of  its  ordinances  it  would 
soon  pass  out  of  existence. 


32  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

5.  We  should  observe  the  Sabbath  as  a  day  of 
rest  and  worship  because  if  we  fail  to  do  so  we  will 
bring  great  guilt  upon  our  souls. 

Since  the  Sabbath  is  of  divine  origin  it  is  plain 
that  we  commit  a  great  sin  when  we  do  not  observe 
it.  If  the  President  of  the  United  States  should 
appoint  a  certain  day  as  a  day  of  Thanksgiving  we 
would  do  him  a  great  injustice  if  we  should  refuse 
to  observe  it.  A  greater  injustice  is  done 
God  when  men  refuse  to  observe  the  Sabbath 
as  a  day  of  rest  and  worship.  They  dishonor  Him 
in  that  they  deny  Him  the  right  to  appoint  a  day  of 
rest  and  worship. 

Again,  Sabbath  desecration  is  a  great  sin  because 
when  men  commit  it  they  commit  theft  against 
God.  They  commit  a  greater  sin  when  they  refuse 
to  observe  the  Sabbath  properly,  than  when  they 
commit  theft  against  their  fellow-man. 

Again,  Sabbath  desecration  is  a  great  sin  be- 
cause it  is  not  one  of  ignorance.  Men  know  that 
they  sin  when  they  refuse  to  observe  the  Sabbath. 
They  cannot  plead  ignorance  of  the  law  of  the  Sab- 
bath. They  are  plainly  taught  how  to  observe  it. 
They  then  deliberately  and  wilfully  sin  when  they 
desecrate  God's  day.  They  sin  against  light  and 
knowledge. 

Again,  Sabbath  desecration  is  a  great  sin  in  that 
men  show  great  ingratitude  to  God  in  committing 
it.    Ingratitude  is  one  of  the  greatest  of  sins.    God's 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  33 

word  tells  us  that  it  is  characteristic  of  the  wicked. 
Do  not  men  show  great  ingratitude  to  God  when 
after  He  has  given  them  six  days  in  which  to  en- 
gage in  pleasure  and  labor  they  take  from  Him  the 
day  that  He  has  set  aside  for  Himself  ?  The  Sab- 
bath commemorates  the  resurrection  of  the  Saviour 
— the  conclusion  of  the  work  of  redemption.  Men 
show  great  ingratitude  to  God,  then,  in  refusing  to 
observe  it  in  that  they  refuse  to  celebrate  the  resur- 
rection of  the  Son  of  God. 

Again,  Sabbath  desecration  is  a  great  sin  because 
in  committing  it  we  sin  against  ourselves.  We  in- 
jure ourselves  physically,  mentally,  morally,  spirit- 
ually, and  every  other  way.  Sabbath  desecration 
is  a  great  sin  because  of  the  injury  we  inflict  upon 
others  when  we  commit  it.  We  exert  an  influence 
for  evil  over  others.  We  deprive  them  of  some  of 
their  dearest  privileges. 

Since  Sabbath  desecration  is  such  a  great  sin, 
great  punishment  will  necessarily  be  inflicted  upon 
those  that  commit  it.  Punishment  that  men  suffer 
is  always  in  proportion  to  the  guilt  that  they  incur. 
That  the  guilt  that  they  incur  in  desecrating  the 
Sabbath  is  great  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the 
penalty  attached  to  that  sin  under  the  old  dispensa- 
tion was  death.  The  man  who  was  found  gathering 
sticks  on  the  Sabbath  was  stoned  to  death.  God 
has  not  changed.  He  loves  His  day  as  much  as  He 
ever  did.     He  is  no  slower  in  punishing  men  for 


34  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 


desecrating  His  day  than  He  was  under  the  old  i 
dispensation.  We  cannot  tell  in  how  many  ways 
we  will  suffer  if  we  desecrate  the  Sabbath.  God 
may  take  our  health,  or  our  property,  or  our  loved  ; 
ones  from  us.  We  may  be  cursed  with  ungodly  | 
children  and  with  unsuccessful  business.  We  will  i 
certainly  have  a  guilty  conscience,  a  weary  heart  ' 
and  poor  spiritual  health.  j 


Thou  Shalt  not  kill 

—Exodus   20  :  13 

WE  WILL  notice,  first: 
L    Some    things    these    words    do    not 
forbid : 

1.  They  do  not  forbid  homicide  in  self-defense. 
Such  killing  is  not  done  through  hatred,  or  malice, 
or  feelings  of  revenge.  It  is  this  kind  of  killing  that 
the  commandment  forbids.  Self-preservation  is  an 
instinct  of  our  nature,  and  is,  therefore,  a  revelation 
of  God.  It  is  right  for  the  aggrieved  to  protect 
himself  for  the  reason  that  if  he  does  not,  two  lives 
would  be  sacrificed,  since  the  aggressor  would  likely 
be  executed.  Moreover,  it  would  be  better  for  the 
aggressor  to  lose  his  life  than  for  the  aggrieved  to 
lose  his. 

2.  These  words  do  not  forbid  the  infliction  of 
capital  punishment  for  murder.  God  said  to  Noah : 
"Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his 
blood  be  shed :  for  in  the  image  of  God  made  He 
man."  These  words  are  of  perpetual  obligation  for 
the  reason  that  God  spoke  them  to  the  second  head 
of  the  human  race.  The  reason  that  God  gave 
shows  that  they  are  of  perpetual  obligation.  That 
reason  was  that  he  made  man  in  his  image.  This 
reason  has  as  much  force  now  as  it  did  when  it  was 


36  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

spoken.  Our  moral  nature  teaches  us  that  a  man 
who  kills  another  through  malice,  or  hatred,  should 
be  punished  in  proportion  to  his  crime.  So  universal 
is  the  judgment  of  men  that  the  murderer  should  be 
put  to  death  that  when  justice  is  not  meted  out  to 
him  they  can  hardly  be  restrained  from  slaying  him. 
The  fact  that  the  murderer  was  put  to  death  under 
the  Old  Testament  dispensation  shows  that  capital 
punishment  should  be  inflicted  for  murder. 

3.  These  words  do  not  forbid  defensive  war. 
When  nations  engage  in  war  to  enlarge  their  terri- 
tory, or  for  some  other  selfish  reason,  they  are  re- 
sponsible for  all  the  blood  that  is  shed.  But  when  na- 
tions engage  in  war  to  protect  the  lives  and  property 
of  their  subjects  they  are  not  responsible  in  God's 
sight  for  the  consequences  of  such  a  war.  A  nation 
has  as  much  right  to  protect  itself  as  an  individual 
has  to  protect  himself. 

II.  Some  things  these  words  forbid : 
I.  They  forbid  the  killing  that  is  done  through 
hatred  or  malice,  or  to  gratify  feelings  of  revenge. 
When  a  man  thus  kills  another  he  commits  a  great 
sin.  He  commits  a  great  sin,  first,  for  the  reason 
that  man  was  made  in  the  image  of  God.  We  would 
do  a  great  evil  if  we  should  defile  the  statue  or  pic- 
ture of  a  great  and  good  man.  How  much  greater 
evil  would  we  do  if  we  should  defile  the  image  of 
God  impressed  upon  the  immortal  soul  of  man? 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  37 

Again,  a  man  commits  a  great  sin  when  he  mur- 
ders another,  for  the  reason  that  men  are  brethren. 
They  are  of  one  blood.  They  have  a  common  Father. 
Men  commit  a  great  sin  when  they,  through  hatred, 
kill  an  animal.  But  such  a  sin  is  nothing  compared 
to  the  sin  they  commit  when  they  thus  kill  a  fellow- 
man — bone  of  their  bone  and  flesh  of  their  flesh. 
It  is  no  wonder  that  God  said  to  Cain,  "Cursed  art 
thou  from  the  earth  which  hath  opened  her  mouth  to 
receive  thy  brother's  blood  from  thy  hands." 

Men  commit  a  great  sin  when  they  murder  a 
fellow-man,  for  the  reason  that  they  take  from  him 
that  which  is  of  very  great  value.  Nothing  except 
his  soul  is  dearer  to  him  than  his  life.  When  a  man 
kills  another  he  takes  from  him  his  property,  his 
loved  ones  and  friends,  numerous  opportunities  of 
usefulness,  the  happiness  of  a  lifetime  and  all  op- 
portunities of  repentance  if  his  sins  have  not  been 
pardoned.  To  all  appearances  the  number  of  mur- 
ders has  increased.  One  reason  is  because  men 
have  such  a  low  sense  of  the  heinousness  of  the 
crime.  They  are  as  ready  to  kill  their  fellow-man 
as  they  are  to  kill  a  dog.  Another  reason  is  be- 
cause capital  punishment  is  so  seldom  inflicted  for 
murder.  One  of  our  legislators  oft'ered  a  resolution 
which  would  have  put  an  end  to  capital  punishment 
had  it  been  adopted.  Such  a  law  would  have  con- 
tradicted the  teachings  of  God's  Word.  It  would 
have  increased  the  number  of  murders  an  hundred- 


38  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

fold.  Before  men  will  cease  to  commit  murder 
they  must  be  made  to  realize  that  if  they  commit 
such  a  crime  they  will  forfeit  their  lives.  But  men 
may  commit  murder  gradually.  The  man  who  kills 
his  fellow-man  gradually  is  as  guilty  in  God's  sight 
as  the  man  who  kills  him  at  once.  The  man  who 
injures  his  fellow-man  physically  by  placing  heavy 
burdens  upon  him,  gradually  killing  him,  is  a  mur- 
derer. The  man  who  oppresses  the  widow  and 
orphan,  bringing  suffering  upon  their  bodies  and 
sorrow  to  their  hearts,  is  as  truly  a  murderer  as 
the  man  who  shoots  down  his  fellow-man.  Men 
who  sell  intoxicating  drinks  and  morphine  to  their 
fellow-man,  unless  they  sell  such  things  for  medi- 
cinal purposes,  are  murderers.  The  voice  of  their 
brother's  blood  cries  to  God  from  the  earth,  which 
has  opened  her  mouth  to  receive  it. 

2.  These  words  forbid  lynching.  As  a  general 
thing  men  who  engage  in  lynching  are  the  most 
godless  men  of  the  country.  They  do  so  during 
moments  of  excitement — without  mature  delibera- 
tion. Lynching  is  very  seldom  justifiable.  There  is 
no  oft'ense  for  which  the  law  does  not  aft'ord  redress. 
Men  should  at  least  give  the  law  a  chance.  Life  is 
the  gift  of  God,  and  the  man  who  takes  it,  except  at 
the  command  of  God,  commits  murder,  and  should 
be  punished.  Officers  of  the  law  are  the  only  ones 
whom  God  has  appointed  to  execute  justice,  and 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  39 

when   any   one   else,   except   in   self-defense,   takes 
the  life  of  his  fellow-man,  he  is  guilty  of  murder. 

3.  These  words  forbid  duelling.  He  who  kills 
another  in  a  duel  is  as  guilty  of  murder  as  the  man 
who  kills  another  through  hatred  or  malice.  No 
one  has  a  right  to  kill  another  because  he  has  in- 
sulted him.  Such  conduct  is  contrary  to  the  teach- 
ings of  God's  Word.  Moreover,  when  a  man  kills 
another  in  a  duel  he  brings  suffering  upon  innocent 
parties — the  man's  family.  No  one  has  a  right  to  do 
this. 

4.  These  words  forbid  self-murder.  Nut  every 
one  who  commits  suicide  does  so  during  moments 
of  insanity.  Not  every  one  who  commits  suicide 
during  moments  of  insanity  is  irresponsible  to  God 
for  such  an  act.  A  man  a  few  months  since,  after 
killing  three  of  his  children,  killed  himself.  At  the 
time  of  the  killing  he  was  under  the  influence  of 
strong  drink  and  opiates.  Was  he  irresponsible  to 
God  for  the  killing  of  his  children  and  himself  ? 
Men  have  no  more  right  to  kill  themselves  than 
they  have  to  kill  their  fellow-man.  Such  men  are 
guilty  of  double  murder — murder  both  of  body 
and  soul — since  they  deprive  themselves  of  every 
opportunity  of  repentance.  Many  men  are  killing 
themselves  gradually.  Men  who  are  deliberately 
injuring  themselves  physically  by  open  sin,  or  hard 
work,  or  over-eating,  or  exposure,  are  violating  the 
teachings  of  these  words.     Men  who  indulge  ex- 


40  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

cessively  in  strong  drink  and  worldly  pleasures,  and 
who  in  any  other  way  injure  their  bodies,  are  acting 
contrary  to  the  teachings  of  this  commandment. 

5.  These  words  forbid  any  tendency  on  the  part 
of  men  to  encourage  murder,  If  I  encourage  mur- 
der I  am  almost,  if  not  altogether,  as  guilty  in  God's 
sight  as  the  man  who  committed  the  deed.  The 
murderer  of  Uriah  was  David,  the  man  who  encour- 
aged the  killing  of  Uriah.  Lawyers  who  defend 
men  whom  they  know  are  guilty  of  murder  encour- 
age the  commission  of  murder,  and  are,  therefore, 
murderers  in  God's  sight.  The  governor  who  in- 
discriminately pardons  murderers  encourages  the 
commission  of  the  crime,  and  is,  therefore,  a  mur- 
derer. So  are  jurymen  who  clear  a  man  whom  they 
know  should  hang,  and  judges  who  pronounce  in- 
nocent men  whom  they  know  are  guilty  of  murder. 

6.  These  words  forbid  hatred  and  malice.  The 
commandments  reach  the  thoughts  of  men. — Math. 
5 :  22.  John  declares  plainly  that  whosoever  hates 
his  brother  is  a  murderer. 

7.  These  words  forbid  soul  murder.  He  who 
refuses  to  accept  Christ  as  his  Saviour  is  gradually 
destroying  his  soul.  Such  a  man  incurs  greater 
guilt  than  the  man  who  gradually  kills  his  body. 
But  there  are  men  who  are  gradually  murdering 
the  souls  of  others  as  well  as  their  own.  The  man 
who  leads  his  fellow-man  into  sin  is  gradually  de- 
stroying his  soul.     Our  Saviour  pronounced  a  woe 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  41 

upon  such  a  man.  He  declared  it  would  be  better 
for  him  if  a  millstone  was  bound  around  his  neck 
and  he  was  cast  into  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

8.  These  words  forbid  the  killing  of  birds 
and  animals  unnecessarily.  Men  have  a  right  to  kill 
birds  and  animals  for  food  and  for  self-protection ; 
but  if  they  kill  them  for  the  pleasure  that  is  thus 
afforded  them  they  violate  the  teachings  of  these 
words.  Members  of  shooting  clubs  are  constantly 
bringing  guilt  upon  their  souls. 


Thou  shall  not  steal 

—Exodus   20  :15 

THESE  words  teach  us  our  duty  to  our  fellow- 
man  as  regards  his  property.  It  is  our  duty 
to  protect  not  only  the  life  and  chastity  of 
our  fellow-man,  but  his  property.  Theft  is  a  great 
sin. 

God's  Word  teaches  us  two  principles  that  will 
enable  us  to  determine  what  theft  is.  It  teaches  us 
that  men  commit  theft  when  they  take  from  their 
fellow-man  that  which  belongs  to  him  and  when 
they  withhold  from  him  that  which  belongs  to  him. 
With  these  principles  before  us  we  may  make  the 
following  assertions : 

1.  Men  steal  when  they  directly  appropriate  the 
property  of  their  fellow-man. 

Any  child  knows  that  when  a  person  takes  the 
cow  or  horse  of  another  he  steals.  But  there  are 
persons  who,  while  they  would  not  do  this,  never- 
theless   steal. 

2.  Men  steal  when  they  refuse  to  pay  their  debts. 
Such  men  as  truly  steal  as  they  would  if  they 

should  rob  a  bank  or  steal  a  cow.  They  withhold 
from  their  neighbor  that  which  belongs  to  him.  If 
they  put  ofif  paying  their  debts  a  needlessly  long  time 
they  rob  their  neighbor  of  much  he  would  have  by 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  43 

the  use  of  his  money.  There  are  men  who  are  not 
able  to  pay  their  debts.  Inabihty  to  pay  debts  is 
not  a  proof  of  dishonesty.  But  let  us  not  forget 
that  an  honest  man  will  make  an  honest  effort  to 
pay  his  debts. 

He  will,  in  the  first  place,  be  industrious.  A 
man  who  does  not  pay  his  debts  because  he  is  in- 
dolent is  dishonest. 

Again,  if  a  man  who  is  in  debt  is  honest  he 
will  practice  the  strictest  economy.  He  who  has 
not  the  means  to  pay  his  debt  because  he  is  ex- 
travagant is  dishonest. 

3.  Men  steal  when  they  charge  an  illegal  per 
cent,  of  interest  for  their  money  and  place  an  illegi- 
timate price  upon  their  goods. 

No  on|  has  a  right  to  charge  more  than  legal 
per  cent,  of  interest  for  his  money  and  more  than 
market  price  for  his  goods. 

When  he  does  so  he  takes  from  his  neighbor  that 
which  belongs  to  him.  Men  sometimes  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  circumstances  of  their  fellow-man. 
A  man  wishes  money.  If  he  does  not  get  it  he  and 
his  family  will  suffer.  Some  one  knowing  the  great 
need  of  the  man  tells  him  that  he  will  lend  him 
money  at  20  per  cent,  interest.  The  poor  man  sees 
that  the  per  cent,  of  interest  is  too  much,  but  there 
is  nothing  for  him  to  do  but  to  pay  it.  The  man 
who  lends  him  the  money  is  a  thief.  He  takes  from 
the  man  that  which  belongs  to  him. 


44  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

A  man  must  have  supplies  for  his  family.  Some 
one  tells  him  that  he  will  let  him  have  supplies  at 
such  and  such  a  price.  He  charges  him  two  prices 
for  them.  He  takes  advantage  of  the  circumstances 
of  his  neighbor.  He  is  a  thief.  Men  sometimes 
take  advantage  of  the  ignorance  of  their  neighbor. 
A  man  has  a  piece  of  property  that  he  thinks  is 
worth  $100.  It  is  worth  $i,ooo.  Some  one  who 
knows  the  price  of  the  property  ofifers  $ioo.  He 
takes  what  he  is  offered.  The  other  man  sells  the 
property  for  $i,ooo.  He  is  a  thief.  There  are 
thousands  who  are  engaging  in  this  kind  of  business. 
God  pronounces  a  woe  upon  them. 

There  are  two  causes  for  this  kind  of  theft. 
One  cause  is  a  great  desire  on  the  part  of  men 
to  make  a  display.  With  some  men  the  cHief  end  of 
man  is  to  get  in  society  and  shine  there. 

They  are  willing  to  sacrifice  their  characters  to 
accomplish  this  purpose. 

When  the  writer  was  in  Birmingham  a  year 
since,  he  learned  that  there  were  people  there  who 
had  placed  a  mortgage  on  their  homes  that  they 
might  live  in  a  certain  part  of  the  city. 

They  wished  to  move  in  the  highest  circles  and 
were  willing  to  mortgage  their  homes  in  order  to  do 
so. 

Another  cause  for  this  kind  of  theft  is  an  inordi- 
nate desire  on  the  part  of  men  to  get  wealth. 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  45 

They  determined  to  get  it  at  any  cost.  They 
concluded  that  if  they  could  not  get  it  honestly  they 
would  get  it  dishonestly.  Such  conduct  on  the  part 
of  men  leads  to  embezzlement,  train  wrecking  and 
bank  robbery. 

4.  Men  commit  theft  when  they  refuse  to  give 
the  hireling  an  equivalent  for  his  labor  and  when 
they  withhold  from  him  his  wages  beyond  the  time 
it  is  due.     They  oppress  the  hireling. 

God  pronounces  a  curse  upon  such  men.  They 
commit  theft  as  truly  as  the  man  who  steals  his 
neighbor's  cow. 

5.  Men  steal  when  they  give  in  their  property 
at  far  less  than  its  real  value.  Taxation  is  essential 
to  the  maintenance  of  the  government.  When  men 
give  in  their  property  at  far  less  than  its  real  value 
they  withhold  from  the  government  that  which  be- 
longs to  it.  They  have  no  more  right  to  steal  from 
the  government  than  they  have  to  steal  from  an  in- 
dividual. 

6.  Men  commit  theft  when  they  refuse  to  pur- 
chase a  half  fare  railway  ticket  for  children  above 
five  years  of  age. 

Railway  companies  have  a  rule  to  the  effect  that 
children  above  five  years  of  age  must  pay  half  fare. 
When  men  refuse  to  buy  this  ticket  or  when  they 
misrepresent  the  age  of  the  child,  they  steal.  They 
have  no  more  right  to  rob  a  railway  company  than 
they  have  to  rob  an  individual.     Because  railway 


46  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

companies  practice  extortion  on  the  people  is  no 
reason  why  they  should  deal  dishonestly  towards 
them. 

7.  Men  steal  when  they  use  scales  and  measures 
that  lie  in  their  favor. 

There  are  thousands  who  are  using  such  scales 
and  measures. 

8.  Men  steal  through  misrepresentation  and 
hypocrisy. 

When  a  horse  trader  is  very  careful  to  mention 
the  god  traits  of  his  horse  but  refuses  to  mention 
his  bad  traits  he  violates  the  teachings  of  this  com- 
mandment. When  a  merchant  misrepresents  an 
article  of  merchandise  he  as  truly  steals  as  does  the 
man  who  robs  a  bank. 

A  man  represents  himself  as  agent  of  a  paper. 
After  he  has  collected  thousands  of  dollars,  it  is 
discovered  that  he  is  a  fraud.  A  man  claims  to 
be  a  representative  of  an  insurance  company.  He 
induces  thousands  to  take  insurance.  After  a  time 
it  is  discovered  that  such  a  company  does  not  exist. 
Where  would  you  find  a  greater  thief  ? 

Men  were  appointed  by  the  Governor  of  South 
Carolina  to  purchase  whiskey  for  the  dispensary. 
They  were  expected  to  purchase  it  at  as  low  a  price 
as  possible.  Whiskey  houses  told  them  that  if  they 
would  purchase  it  from  them  they  would  sell  it  to 
them  at  a  lower  price  than  they  would  to  other  pur- 
chasers.   They  found  out  what  the  usual  price  was, 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  47 

made  the  State  pay  that  price  and  placed  the  bal- 
ance of  the  money  in  their  pockets.  They  are  thieves 
and  should  be  punished  to  the  fullest  extent  of  the 
law. 

9.  Men  steal  when  they  take  advantage  of  the 
technicalities  of  law.  Men  need  to  remember  that 
not  everything  is  right  morally  that  is  right  legally. 
There  is  a  law  that  allows  a  bankrupt  man  a  thou- 
sand dollars'  worth  of  property.  An  honest  man 
will  not  take  advantage  of  that  law.  He  will  strip 
himself  of  everything  that  he  has  with  a  view  of  pay- 
ing his  debts.  No  honest  man  will  turn  over  his 
property  to  his  wife  to  get  out  of  paying  his  debts. 

10.  Men  steal  intellectually  as  well  as  morally. 
The  man  who  takes  the  intellectual  goods  of  his 
fellow-man  is  as  truly  a  thief  as  the  man  who  takes 
his  material  goods. 

Over  the  desk  of  every  author  and  over  the 
pulpit  of  every  minister  should  be  written  the  words, 
"Thou  shall  not  steal." 

11.  Men  steal  morally.  The  man  who  lowers 
the  moral  tone  of  the  community  in  which  he  lives 
is  a  thief.  Offences  will  come,  but  woe  unto  the  man 
by  whom  they  come. 

He  who  leads  his  fellow-man  into  sin  by  false 
reasoning  or  example  is  a  thief.  The  saloon- 
keeper is  a  thief.  Any  man  who  places  the  bottle 
to  the  lips  of  his  neighbor  is  a  thief.  Parents  who 
fail  to  set  their  children  a  godly  example  and  to 


48  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

bring  them  up  in  the  way  they  should  go,  rob  them 
of  that  which  is  dear  to  them.  Ministers  who  teach 
their  pernicious  doctrines  and  who  fail  to  reprove  sin 
are  thieves,  since  they  are  withholding  from  the 
people  that  which  belongs  to  them.  They  defraud 
them  of  happiness,  character,  and  perhaps  of  their 
souls. 

12.  Men  steal  from  themselves.  The  man  who 
refuses  to  accept  Christ  as  his  Saviour  is  a  thief. 
He  defrauds  himself  of  happiness,  reputation,  char- 
acter and  perhaps  of  heaven. 

The  professed  Christian  who  does  not  live  in 
accordance  with  his  profession  robs  himself  of 
everything  that  is  of  great  value. 

13.  Men  steal  from  God.  We  are  God's  prop- 
erty. Our  time,  our  money,  our  talents,  our  strength 
belongs  to  Him.  When  we  refuse  to  serve  Him — 
to  devote  what  we  have  to  His  service,  we  with- 
hold from  Him  what  belongs  to  Him. 

''Will  a  man  rob  God  ?  Yet  ye  have  robbed  Me. 
But  ye  say  wherein  have  we  robbed  Thee?  In 
tithes  and  oflferings.  Ye  are  cursed  with  a  curse, 
for  ye  have  robbed  Me,  even  this  whole  nation." 


Slander 

Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness  against  thy  neigh- 
bor.— Ex.  20  :   i6. 

THIS   commandment   teaches  us   our   duty   to 
our    fellow-man    as    regards    his    reputation. 
What  is  dearer  to  one  than  his  reputation? 
Money  is  nothing  compared  to  it. 

I.  "Men  bear  false  witness  against  their  neigh- 
bor in  courts  of  justice. 

"Men  do  not  hesitate  to  bear  false  witness  against 
their  neighbor  after  taking  upon  themselves  the 
most  solemn  vows.  Some  do  it  through  hatred  or 
envy.  Some  because  they  are  bribed  to  do  so. 
Others  through  friendly  feelings  for  the  person  in 
whose  behalf  they  perjure  themselves.  Such  per- 
sons stop  the  course  of  justice.  Many  innocent 
persons  have  been  condemned  and  many  guilty  per- 
sons have  been  acquitted  because  of  false  witnesses. 
False  testimony  in  courts  of  justice  lessen  the  value 
of  and  shake  the  confidence  of  people  in  judicial 
proceedings.  Both  secular  and  sacred  history  shows 
that  false  witnesses  have  m  all  ages  been  severely 
dealt  with.  In  Athens  the  false  witness  was  de- 
prived of  all  of  his  civil  rights.  In  Rome  he  was 
hurled  from  a  high  rock  to  his  death.  In  Egypt 
his  nose  and  ears  were  amputated.    In  India  he  was 


50  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

taken  to  a  certain  place  where,  in  the  presence 
of  a  great  multitude  of  people,  his  mouth  was 
sewed  up.  Under  the  Old  Testament  dispensation 
he  was  brought  before  the  judges  and  was  treated 
as  he  thought  in  his  heart  to  treat  his  neighbor. 

2.  "Men  bear  false  witness  against  their  neigh- 
bor in  public  addresses. 

"Many  politicians  do  not  hesitate  to  slander  their 
opponents.  They,  as  a  usual  thing,  do  it  behind 
their  backs.  Sometimes  they  do  it  in  their  pres- 
ence. In  many  political  speeches  there  is  little  argu- 
ment. Many  politicians  seem  to  think  the  thing  for 
them  to  do  is  to  prejudice  the  people  against  their 
opponents  by  slandering  them. 

"Men  make  a  mistake  when  they  suppose  that 
they  can  advance  their  interest  by  injuring  the  in- 
terest of  others. 

"A  politician  will  gain  more  supporters  by  treat- 
ing his  opponent  with  fairness  than  by  slandering 
him. 

"Preachers  sometimes  bear  false  witness  against 
their  neighbor  in  their  sermons.  Ministers  have 
been  known  to  misquote  the  views  of  other  min- 
isters in  doctrinal  sermons.  No  minister  can  in 
this  way  build  up  his  church.  We  should  rejoice 
that  religious  controversy  is  a  thing  of  the  past. 

"Sometimes  authors  bear  false  witness  in  their 
writings  by  misrepresenting  the  views  of  others. 

"A  lie  written  is  worse  than  a  lie  spoken. 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  51 

3.  "Men  bear  false  witness  against  their  neigh- 
bor when  they  originate  evil  reports  about  him. 

"A  man  who  will  deliberately  originate  an  evil 
report  about  his  fellow-man  is  a  bad  man.  The 
Bible  tells  us  that  slander  is  a  characteristic  of  the 
devil.  It  tells  us  also  that  the  wicked  and  hypo- 
crites are  addicted  to  it,  and  that  it  is  hateful  and 
an  abomination  to  God.  We  cannot  afford  to  trust 
a  man  who  will  originate  an  evil  report  about  his 
neighbor.  There  is  an  old  saying  that  a  dog  that 
will  bring  a  bone  will  carry  one. 

"A  man  who  will  bring  an  evil  report  to  you 
about  his  neighbor  will  carry  an  evil  report  to  his 
neighbor  about  you. 

4.  "Men  bear  false  witness  against  their  neigh- 
bor when  they  circulate  evil  reports  about  him. 

"The  Bible  tells  us  that  slander  includes  back- 
biting and  repeating  matters.  It  is  almost  as  bad 
to  circulate  a  bad  report  about  a  person  as  it  is 
to  originate  such  a  report.  There  are  people  who 
know  all  of  the  scandal  of  the  neighborhood.  They 
seem  to  think  that  it  is  incumbent  upon  them  to 
make  it  known.  They  do  not  realize  that  the  in- 
jury that  they  thus  do  the  reputation  of  their  neigh- 
bor cannot  be  repaired.  If  they  injure  their  neigh- 
bor's estate  or  his  body  they  can  to  some  extent 
repair  such  an  injury,  but  they  can  never  repair 
the  injury  that  they  do  his  reputation.  An  old 
woman  once  confessed  to  the  priest  that  she  had 


52  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

slandered  her  neighbor.  He  gave  her  some  seed 
and  told  her  to  return  to  him  after  she  had  scat- 
tered them.  When  she  returned  he  commanded 
her  to  retrace  her  steps  and  gather  the  seed.  She 
returned  after  a  time  and  declared  that  the  wind 
had  wafted  the  seed  away,  and  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  gather  them. 

"He  assured  her  that  it  was  just  as  impossible 
for  her  to  recall  the  evil  reports  she  had  circulated 
about  her  neighbor. 

*'Men  cannot  repair  the  injury  that  they  do  to 
their  neighbor  by  slandering  him. 

5.  "Men  bear  false  witness  against  their  neigh- 
bor when  they  exercise  uncharitable  judgment  to- 
wards him. 

"The  Bible  teaches  us  that  slander  includes  evil 
surmising  and  uncharitable  judgment.  T  do  not 
know  that  the  report  about  Mr.  Jones  is  correct,' 
asserts  one.  T  believe,  however,  that  he  is  capable 
of  doing  such  a  thing.' 

"Men  make  a  great  mistake  when  they  assert 
things  about  their  neighbors  that  they  do  not  know. 
We  are  very  ignorant  of  the  heart  of  our  neighbor. 
We  know  little  of  his  environments  and  of  the 
temptations  to  which  he  is  exposed.  Perhaps  if 
we  should  be  placed  under  the  same  circumstances 
under  which  Jie  labors,  we  would  do  as  he  has  done. 

"  'And  why  beholdest  thou  the  mote  that  is  in 
thy  brother's  eye  and  considereth  not  the  beam  that 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  53 

is  in  thine  eye?'  Or  how  wilt  thou  say  to  thy 
brother,  'Let  me  pull  out  the  mote  out  of  thine  eye ; 
and,  behold,  a  beam  is  in  thine  own  eye?' 

6.  "Men  bear  false  witness  against  their  neigh- 
bor when  they  withhold  part  of  the  truth  concern- 
ing him. 

*'In  courts  of  justice  men  are  not  only  required 
to  tell  the  truth  but  the  whole  truth.  They  can 
by  withholding  part  of  the  truth  condemn  an  in- 
nocent man.  Just  so,  when  men  fail  to  tell  the  whole 
truth  about  their  neighbor  they  bear  false  witness 
against  him. 

7.  "Men  bear  false  witness  against  their  neigh- 
bor when  they  speak  of  him  in  ambiguous  terms 
with  a  view  of  misleading.  Let  us  be  plain  in  our 
conversation  about  our  neighbor,  otherwise  we 
should  not  speak  of  him  at  all.  We  should  not  speak 
of  him  in  such  a  way  as  that  an  impression  will  be 
made  that  will  injure  his  reputation. 

8.  "Men  bear  false  witness  against  their  neigh- 
bor when  they  keep  silent  when  he  is  slandered  in 
their  presence. 

"If  a  man  is  being  killed  before  my  eyes  and 
I  make  no  effort  to  save  him,  I  make  myself  partly 
responsible  for  the  crime. 

"Just  so,  when  I  keep  silent  while  a  fellow-man 
is  being  slandered  in  my  presence,  I  become  partly 
responsible  for  the  slander. 


54  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

"Every  one  knozus  that  silence  gives  consent. 
Saul  in  not  lifting  his  hands  to  protect  Stephen, 
when  he  was  being  put  to  death  gave  his  consent 
to  his  death  and  thus  brought  guilt  upon  his  soul. 

"Why  Should  We  Not  Bear  False  Witness 
Against  Our  Neighbor?" 

1.  "Because  in  doing  so  we  injure  ourselves. 
"We  certainly  injure  ourselves  morally  in  doing 

so.  A  bad  habit  is  strengthened  every  time  it  is 
Dracticed.  It  is  not  hard  to  find  men  who  have 
used  profane  language  so  often  that  they  use  it  al- 
most unconsciously.  Some  people  have  slandered 
their  neighbor  so  often  that  they  find  it  hard  to 
speak  well  of'  him.  Sin  hardens  the  heart.  It 
sears  the  conscience.  Men  injure  themselves  more, 
morally,  by  bearing  false  witness  against  their  neigh- 
bor than  they  injure  him  in  the  matter  of  his  reputa- 
tion. There  are  other  ways  in  which  they  injure 
themselves.  They  deprive  themselves  of  much  hap- 
piness and  of  the  favor  of  their  fellow-man. 

2.  "We  should  not  bear  false  witness  against  our 
neighbor,  because  in  doing  so  we  injure  him.  It 
is  not  difficult  to  find  men  who,  while  they  would 
not  injure  their  ncigJibor  physically,  would  not 
hesitate  to  wink  down  his  reputation.  Many  are 
there  who,  while  they  would  not  take  their  neigh- 
bor's pocketbook,  take  delight  in  stealing  his  repu- 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  55 

tation.  Slander  has  done  men  and  women  untold 
injury. 

"It  has  broken  many  a  heart.  It  has  occasioned 
many  a  suicide.  The  Bible  tells  us  that  it  sepa- 
rates friends,  brings  about  discord  among  brethren, 
and  leads  to  murder. 

3.  "We  should  not  bear  false  witness  against  our 
neighbor  because  it  is  not  Christlike  to  do  so. 

"We  cannot  conceive  of  our  Saviour  doing  such 
a  thing.  He  spoke  well  of  sinners  and  publicans. 
The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  criticised  and  spoke  un- 
kindly of  Zacheus,  but  our  Saviour  called  him  a 
son  of  Abraham.  They  wished  to  kill  the  adul- 
terous woman,  but  our  Saviour  pardoned  her  sin 
and  told  her  to  go  in  peace  and  sin  no  more.  Even 
his  disciples  criticised  the  woman  who  anointed 
his  person,  but  He  declared  that  wherever  the  gospel 
would  be  proclaimed  that  act  of  hers  would  be 
spoken  of  as  a  memorial  of  her. 

"It  is  stated  in  one  of  the  Apocryphal  Gospels 
that  once  while  a  dog  was  being  killed  on  the  streets 
of  Jerusalem  they  who  were  doing  the  killing,  on 
seeing  Jesus  said,  'Let  us  see  what  He  will  say  of 
this  dog.'  After  looking  at  the  dog  for  a  few  min- 
utes, he  said :  'His  teeth  are  like  pearls.'  He  cer- 
tainly did  not  lose  anything  in  thus  speaking  of  the 
dog.  Would  anything  have  been  gained  by  another 
foot-thrust?     Nothing.     We  do  not  lose  anything 


56  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

when  we  speak  well  of  men.  And  we  certainly  do 
not  gain  anything-  when  we  speak  ill  of  them. 

"We  should  not  bear  false  witness  against  our 
neighbor  because  we  are  on  our  way  to  the  judg- 
ment seat  of  Christ.  The  treatment  we  bestow 
upon  our  fellow-man  here  will  be  bestowed  upon 
us  there.  If  we  exercise  mercy  towards  him  mercy 
will  be  exercised  towards  us.  If  we  minister  jus- 
tice here  justice  will  be  ministered  to  us  there. 

''  'J^^<ig^  "ot,  that  ye  be  not  judged.  For  with 
what  judgment  ye  judge  ye  shall  be  judged ;  and 
with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured 
to  you  again.'  " 


Regeneration 

Verily,  verily,  I  sa}^  unto  you  except  a  man  be  born 
again  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God. — John  3  :  3. 

YOU  cannot  find  on  record  a  more  important 
conversation  than  this  one  that  was  held  be- 
tween our  Saviour  and  Nicodemus.  He  had 
doubtless  seen  Christ  perform  miracles  that  con- 
vinced him  that  he  was  from  God.  We  do  not 
know  whether  they  convinced  him  that  he  was  the 
Son  of  God  or  not.  It  seems,  however,  that  he  be- 
came a  disciple  of  Christ  before  or  after  his  cruci- 
fixion. We  are  told  that  he  and  Joseph  embalmed 
the  body  of  Jesus. 

Nicodemus  was  a  very  important  person,  for 
the  reason  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Sanhedrim. 
He  was  doubtless  a  comparitively  moral  man.  He, 
like  other  Pharisees,  was  self-righteous.  The  first 
words  of  our  Saviour  to  him  shook  the  foundation 
of  his  self-confidence.  They  also  taught  him  the 
nature  of  His  kingdom.  He  believed  that  Christ's 
kingdom  was  a  temporal  one.  The  words  of  our 
text  teach  us  that  it  is  a  spiritual  kingdom. 

In  discussing  the  doctrine  of  the  new  birth,  I 
will  consider,  first,  its  nature  ;  secondly,  its  necessity  ; 
thirdly,  its  evidence. 

I.  Its  nature. 


58  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

Our  Saviour's  words  teach  us  that  it  is  a 
spiritual  birth.  Verses  5,  6,  8.  In  other  places  of 
God's  word  we  are  told  that  His  people  were  born 
of  Him.  The  change  is  brought  about  by  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Spirit  on  the  heart.  The  influence  thus 
exerted  by  the  Spirit  is  irresistible.  When  the  Spirit 
determines  to  change  a  man's  heart  he  cannot  resist 
His  influence.  He,  in  producing  the  change,  uses 
the  word  as  His  instrument.  He  is  the  Agent. 
The  word  is  the  instrument.  He  brings  about  the 
change  instantaneously.  Regeneration  is  different 
from  sanctification,  in  that  while  sanctification  is 
progressive,  regeneration  is  instantaneous.  It  is 
different  from  justification,  in  that  while  justifica- 
tion is  outward,  it  is  inward.  The  change  does  not 
change  the  substance  of  the  soul.  While  a  change 
is  made  in  the  faculties  of  the  soul,  they  remain. 
The  people  of  God  think  and  reason  as  they  always 
did. 

Because  the  new  birth  is  a  spiritual  one,  it  can- 
not be  brought  about  by  reformation  or  culture. 
Men  may  give  up  certain  sins  and  thus  make 
themselves  better  and  they  may  improve  their  char- 
acters by  means  of  education,  but  they  cannot  thus 
change  their  hearts.  They  cannot  any  more  do  this 
than  they  could  cure  heart  disease,  or  consumption 
by  an  outward  application.  The  source  of  life — 
the  heart  must  be  reached.  If  the  heart  is  wrong 
the  life  will  be  wrong.     If  the  heart  is  right  the  life 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  59 

will  be  right.  If  you  wanted  a  tree  that  produced 
bitter  fruit  to  produce  sweet  fruit,  you  would  not 
strip  off  its  leaves,  or  break  its  limbs,  or  even  cul- 
tivate it.  You  would  put  new  life  in  it.  Just  so, 
that  a  wicked  man  may  bring  forth  fruits  of  right- 
eousness a  new  principle  of  life  must  be  put  into 
him  by  the  Spirit. 

2.  The  change  cannot  be  wrought  by  the  use  of 
the  means  of  grace.  Men  may  by  reading  God's 
word  make  themselves  better,  but  they  cannot  in 
this  way  produce  this  change.  Nor  can  they  bring 
it  about  by  attending  upon  the  services  of  God's 
house. 

Attendance  upon  the  services  of  the  church  may 
improve  them  intellectually  and  morally  and  God 
may  use  their  attendance  upon  the  services  of  the 
church  as  a  means  to  regenerate  their  hearts,  but 
this  means  of  grace  cannot  bring  about  the  change. 

Prayer  may  improve  their  condition,  but  if  the 
Spirit  does  not  make  the  change  it  will  never  be 
wrought. 

It  is  plain  that  there  is  no  power  in  the  word  to 
regenerate  the  heart. 

Here  are  two  men.  One  is  a  comparatively 
moral  man.  His  heart  is  easily  touched.  He  is 
docile — ready  to  learn.  The  other  is  an  exceedingly 
wicked  man.  The  gospel  has  been  long  preached 
to  him,  but  it  has  made  no  more  effect  upon  him 
than   rain   makes   upon   a   stone.     One   day,   while 


6o  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

these  two  men  were  listening  to  the  same  sermon, 
while  the  moral  and  tender-hearted  man  is  not 
moved,  the  wicked  and  hard-hearted  man  is  con- 
vinced of  sin  and  turns  to  God.  Now,  if  there  is 
power  in  the  word  to  regenerate  the  heart  it  would 
have  also  regenerated  the  heart  of  the  other  man, 
for  there  was  less  resistance  in  his  heart  to  over- 
come than  in  that  of  the  wicked  man.  It  does  seem 
that  the  former  would  have  been  the  first  one  to  turn 
to  God.  The  fact  that  only  the  wicked  man  did  so 
is  a  proof  that  the  Spirit  brought  about  this  change. 

To  illustrate  again  : 

Here  is  a  man  who  has  been  listening  to  the 
preached  word  for  years.  It  has  made  no  efi^ect 
upon  his  heart.  While  attending  upon  the  services 
of  God's  house,  during  a  revival,  he  gives  his  heart 
to  God. 

Now,  if  there  is  force  in  the  word  to  regenerate 
the  heart,  why  did  it  not  do  this  long  before  this  ? 
There  was  a  time  when  it  had  less  resistance  to  over- 
come than  it  had  at  the  time  of  the  change.  If  it 
did  not  change  his  heart  when  it  was  tender,  how 
could  it  do  so  when  it  had  become  hard?  Not 
only  did  the  gospel  story  become  less  and  less 
attractive  to  him,  but  the  principle  of  un- 
godliness increased  day  by  day.  Here  is  a  young 
man  who  takes  hold  of  a  sapling  and  tries  to  up- 
root it.  He  finds  that  he  cannot  do  so.  Years  after- 
ward, when  he  has  become  an  old  man  and  when  the 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  6i 

tree  has  become  the  king  of  the  forest,  he  goes  back 
to  it  and  tries  to  uproot  it.  What  would  you  think 
of  such  a  man?  If  he  could  not  uproot  the  tree 
when  it  was  a  sapling  and  when  he  was  in  the  vigor 
of  manhood,  how  could  he  expect  to  do  so  after  he 
has  grown  old  and  feeble,  and  after  the  tree  has 
grown  to  maturity?  If  the  word  cannot  regenerate 
a  man's  heart  before  it  has  lost  any  of  its  attractive- 
ness for  him,  and  when  his  heart  is  tender,  how 
could  it  do  so  after  its  attractiveness  has  decreased 
and  after  his  heart  has  become  hardened  in  sin? 

When  we  consider  the  condition  of  man's 
heart,  we  see  that  only  the  Spirit  can  change  it. 
We  are  told  that  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against 
God.  It  is  as  natural  for  man  to  sin  as  it  is  for 
water  to  run  down  hill.  Nothing  less  than  a  miracle 
could  have  made  the  waters  of  Jordan  stand  upon 
a  heap,  or  the  sun  to  stand  still.  And  nothing  less 
than  a  miracle  could  change  man's  heart,  for  it  is 
as  natural  for  it  to  hate  God  as  it  is  for  water  to 
run  down  hill,  and  as  it  is  for  the  sun  to  proceed 
regularly  from  its  rising  to  its  setting.  Hunger  is 
natural  to  men.  You  could  not  persuade  a  man 
not  to  be  hungry.  You  could  induce  him  to  curb  his 
appetite,  but  he  would  still  be  hungry.  Sin  is  just 
as  natural  to  an  unregenerated  heart  as  hunger  is 
to  the  physical  man.  What  preacher  then,  however 
eloquent  he  may  be,  could  persuade  an  ungodly 
man  to  give  up  sin  ? 


62  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

The  word  of  God  teaches  us  that  only  the  Spirit 
could  change  the  heart.  It  tells  us  that  regeneration 
is  a  new  creation,  a  new  birth,  a  resurrection  from 
death,  the  giving  of  a  fleshly  heart  in  place  of  a 
stony  heart.     Ps.  51  :  10;  John  3:5;  Ep.  2:  1-4. 

11.  Let  us  consider  in  the  next  place  the  neces- 
sity of  the  change.  The  Saviour  declares  that  un- 
less a  man  is  born  again  he  cannot  see  the  king- 
dom of  God.  He  means,  first,  by  these  words  that 
except  men  are  born  again  they  cannot  enjoy  the 
privilege  of  the  servants  of  God. 

There  are  three  kingdoms  of  God,  the  church, 
the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  heart,  and  the  kingdom 
of  God  above.  He  means  first,  then,  that  unless 
man's  heart  is  changed  he  cannot  enjoy  the  privi- 
leges of  the  subjects  of  God's  kingdom  here.  He 
may  derive  some  intellectual  pleasure  from  attend- 
ing upon  the  services  of  God,  but  no  spiritual 
pleasure  will  thus  be  afforded  him.  How  can  a 
man  who  has  no  appetite  enjoy  food?  Ungodly 
men  cannot  enjoy  things  spiritual,  for  the  reason 
that  they  have  no  appetite  for  such  things.  They 
may  derive  intellectual  pleasure  from  reading  God's 
word,  but  nothing  more.  How  can  a  blind  man 
enjoy  beautiful  pictures?  The  ungodly  cannot  see 
and  enjoy  the  beauties  of  God's  word  for  the  rea- 
son that  the  eyes  of  their  understanding  are  dark- 
ened. The  singing  of  God's  praises  may  afford 
them  some  kind  of  pleasure,  but  not  the  spiritual 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  63 

delight  that  it  affords  God's  servants.  They  can 
no  more  have  this  deHght  than  a  deaf  man  could 
enjoy  music. 

Our  Saviour  means  in  the  second  place  by  these 
words  that  men  with  unregenerated  hearts  could 
not  enjoy  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  This  follows 
from  what  has  already  been  said.  If  the  ungodly 
tire  of  a  short  sermon,  what  would  they  do  in  heaven 
where  there  is  constant  talk  about  eternal  things? 
If  they  become  weary  of  singing  God's  praises  here, 
what  would  they  do  in  heaven  where  so  much  of 
it  is  done? 

A  noted  infidel  once  said  that  if  God's  praises 
were  sung  constantly  in  heaven  he  did  not  care  to 
go  there.  He  told  the  truth.  My  unconverted 
friends,  if  God  should  allow  you  to  enter  heaven 
with  unregenerated  hearts,  you  would  not  be  satis- 
fied there.  You  could  no  more  enjoy  heaven  with 
a  sinful  heart  than  a  grub  could  enjoy  the  perfume 
of  flowers. 

As  long  as  you  are  in  your  sin  your  under- 
standing is  depraved.  Therefore,  you  have  wrong 
views  of  God's  character.  You  regard  Him,  not 
as  a  kind,  heavenly  Father,  but  as  a  judge  and  as 
one  who  takes  delight  in  punishing  His  creatures. 
How  could  you  be  happy  with  Him  as  long  as  you 
have  such  views  of  His  character?  Your  heart 
is  depraved.  You  hate  holiness.  How  could  you 
be  happy  where  there  is  nothing  but  holiness  ?  You 


64  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

hate  God.  How  could  you  be  happy  with  one  whom 
you  hate?  On  account  of  others,  as  well  as  on 
account  of  yourself,  you  could  not  with  an  unre- 
generated  heart  enter  heaven. 

God  hates  sin.  If  He  refused  to  allow  sinful 
creatures  to  touch  the  mount  while  he  was  giving 
the  law,  how  could  He  permit  them  to  enter  heaven  ? 

What  would  the  angels  say  if  you  should  ask 
them  if  they  were  willing  for  the  ungodly  to  enter 
heaven  ?  They  would  reply,  "No,  no ;  we  were 
tempted  once  and  many  of  our  number  fell.  If 
temptation  should  again  enter  heaven  there  would 
be  danger  of  our  falling."  If  the  redeemed  should 
be  asked  the  same  question  they  would  object  as 
strongly  as  the  angels.  This  change  is  essential  to 
the  enjoyment  of  heaven. 

2.  You   could   not   serve   God   here   without   it. 

However  beautiful  a  watch  may  be  on  the  out- 
side, if  its  main-spring  is  out  of  order  the  watch 
could  not  run.  Man's  heart  is  his  main-spring — 
the  source  of  his  life. 

A  city  cannot  be  furnished  with  water  if  there 
is  no  source  of  supply.  And  man  can  have  no 
strength  to  serve  God  unless  there  is  a  fountain  of 
strength  within  him.  You  may  serve  God  in  a  way 
with  an  unregenerated  heart,  but  you  could  not 
serve  Him  sincerely.  You  may  serve  Him  with 
an  unregenerated  heart  as  a  slave  but  not  as  a  son. 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  65 

III.  Notice  in  the  next  place  the  evidences  of 
this  change.  While  we  cannot  understand  the  mys- 
tery of  this  change,  we  can  see  its  evidences. 

Our  Saviour  intimated  to  Nicodemus  that  the 
change  was  mysterious.  We  cannot  see  the  wind, 
cannot  tell  where  it  rises  and  where  it  stops,  hut 
we  can  see  manifestations  of  its  power.  We  can 
see  limbs  of  a  tree  as  they  bend  beneath  its  power. 
We  cannot  see  the  fluid  upon  a  compass  needle,  but 
we  can  see  manifestations  of  its  power.  We  can 
see  the  needle  as  it  points  to  the  north.  ]\Iy  friends, 
if  there  are  no  evidences  of  this  change  in  your  life 
you  may  know  that  you  are  in  your  sins. 

If  you  are  a  servant  of  God  it  will  be  known. 

Men  do  not  light  a  candle  and  put  it  under  a 
bushel,  but  on  a  candlestick,  that  its  light  may  be 
seen-.  If  you  are  God's  servants  your  light  will 
shine. 

Here  are  some  evidences  of  a  change  of  heart: 

I.  Hatred  of  sin. 

If  your  heart  has  been  changed  you  hate  sin, 
not  merely  because  of  its  consequences,  but  be- 
cause of  its  heinousness,  because  God  hates  it.  If 
your  heart  has  been  changed  it  is  against  your  na- 
ture to  sin.  It  is  as  truly  against  your  nature  to 
sin  as  it  is  against  the  nature  of  a  wolf  to  eat  grass, 
or  of  a  dove  to  eat  a  carcass. 

Men  may  break  their  limbs,  but  it  is  not  their 
nature  to  do  so.  Just  so,  while  a  servant  of  God 
may  sin  it  is  against  his  nature  to  do  so. 


66  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

2.  John  tells  us  how  we  may  know  that  we  are 
God's  servants.  ''Hereby  know  we  that  we  dwell 
in  Him,  and  He  in  us,  because  He  has  given  us  of 
His  Spirit."  Paul  tells  us  how  we  may  know  that 
we  have  the  Spirit.  (Gal.  5:  22.)  **But  the  fruit 
of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long-sufifering, 
gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temperance." 

(a)   Have  we  love? 

Do  we  love  the  Saviour? 

Infidels  admire  the  character  of  Christ,  but  they 
do  not  love  Him.  If  you  love  Christ  you  love  Him 
because  He  has  saved  you  from  your  sins  and  be- 
cause He  has  power  to  save  others  just  as  He  saved 
you. 

If  you  love  Him  you  love  His  servants.  "We 
know  that  we  have  passed  from  death  into  life  be- 
cause we  love  the  brethren." 

Once  you  delighted  in  the  company  of  the  un- 
godly. Now  you  find  yourself  longing  for  the  com- 
pany of  the  godly.  Because  you  love  them  you  do 
all  that  you  can  to  help  them  and  refrain  from 
doing  anything  to  injure  them. 

Since  you  love  God  you  love  His  Word.  Once 
you  derived  no  pleasure  from  reading  it.  You 
hated  it  because  of  its  threatening  and  requirements. 
But  now  you  love  it,  not  merely  because  of  its 
promises,  but  because  of  its  threatenings  and  re- 
quirements.    You  can  say  with  the  Psalmist,  "Oh, 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  6y 

how  I  love  thy  Word,  it  is  my  meditation  all  the 
day." 

Because  you  love  God  you  love  His  house.  You 
can  say  with  the  Psalmist,  "I  was  glad  when  they 
said  unto  me,  Let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord." 

{h)   Have  you  joy? 

The  sinner  is  a  stranger  to  it.  But  the  servant 
of  God  rejoices  at  all  times.  He  rejoices  in  times 
of  sorrow,  because  he  knows  that  all  things  work 
together  for  his  good. 

He  rejoices  when  his  property  is  taken  from 
him,  because  he  knows  that  God  will  supply  him 
with  things  needful. 

(c)   Have  you  long-suffering? 

You  have  if  your  heart  has  been  changed. 

However  much  others  may  injure  you,  you  exer- 
cise long-suffering  towards  them.  You  forgive 
them  because  Christ  has  forgiven  you.  You  realize 
that  you  have  faults  and  that  they  who  have  in- 
jured you  have  some  good  qualities.  You  have 
also  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness  and  tem- 
perance. 


She  hath  done  what  she  could 

— Mk.  14:8 

THESE  words  were  spoken  by  our  Saviour  con- 
cerning the  noble  deed  that  was  performed 
by  Mary  in  anointing  His  person.  The  true 
interpretation  of  the  words  is  that  she  did  her  best. 
Jesus  was  quahfied  to  pass  this  judgment  on  her 
conduct.  He  saw  the  motive  that  prompted  her  and 
He  knew  her  resources.  Jesus  knows  when  we  do 
our  best.  May  we  do  our  best  during  the  coming 
year.  May  the  pastor  do  his  best  in  pastoral  visita- 
tion, in  preparing  himself  to  preach  the  gospel  and 
in  being  an  example  to  the  flock.  May  the  people 
do  their  best  in  fighting  against  their  spiritual  foes, 
in  their  attendance  upon  the  ordinances  of  the 
church,  in  giving  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel,  in 
praying  for  their  pastor  and  in  co-operating  with 
him  in  building  up  Zion. 

Let  us  endeavor  to  find  out  what  is  our  best  in 
the  light  of  the  narrative  before  us : 

I.  Let  me  say  that  we  should  not  measure  our 
best  by  the  best  of  others.  Martha  as  truly  did  her 
best  as  Mary  did  hers.  The  reason  why  our  Saviour 
expressed  himself  as  He  did  about  Mary's  conduct 
was  because  it  had  been  called  into  question.  Had 
Martha's  conduct  been  criticised  He  doubtless 
would  have  declared  that  she  did  her  best. 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  69 

Martha's  talents  were  different  from  those  of 
Mary.  Mary  had  a  devotional  spirit.  Martha  was 
a  woman  of  great  activity.  Martha  as  truly  did 
her  best  along  the  line  of  her  work  as  Mary  did  as 
regards  the  anointing  of  the  Saviour's  person.  We 
all  have  not  the  same  kind  of  talents.  One  is  quali- 
fied to  do  one  kind  of  work.  Another  is  qualified 
to  do  another  kind  of  work.  We  cannot  expect  a  man 
who  has  little  knowledge  of  medicine  to  render  as 
efficient  service  to  the  sick  as  one  who  has  taken 
a  thorough  course  in  medicine,  or  one  who  has  little 
or  no  knowledge  of  law  to  plead  as  well  before  a 
jury  as  one  who  has  been  thoroughly  educated  in 
law,  or  for  a  member  of  the  church  to  do  as  efficient 
work  in  God's  vineyard  as  a  minister  who  has  re- 
ceived a  thorough  collegiate  and  theological  educa- 
tion, or  for  an  ungodly  man  to  work  as  faithfully 
in  the  Lord's  vineyard  and  to  give  as  liberally  to 
His  cause  as  a  man  who  has  been  led  from  dark- 
ness into  light.  We  all  have  not  the  same  niiniber  of 
talents.  One  has  five  talents,  another  two  and  an- 
other only  one  talent.  The  man  of  the  parable  who 
had  two  talents  as  truly  did  his  best  as  the  man  who 
had  five  talents  did  his  best.  The  same  words  that 
were  spoken  to  the  man  of  five  talents  were  spoken 
to  the  man  of  two  talents:  "Well  done,  thou  good 
and  faithful  servant :  thou  hast  been  faithful  over 
a  few  things,  I  will  make  thee  ruler  of  many  things : 
enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord."     The  poor 


70  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

widow  who  cast  only  two  mites  into  the  treasury 
as  truly  did  her  best  as  did  any  of  the  contributors, 
'although  many  cast  in  far  more  than  she  did. 
Teachers  in  a  country  school  may  do  as  faithful 
work  as  those  in  a  large  and  famous  college.  A  little 
store  on  an  obscure  street  may  as  truly  do  its  best 
as  a  large  cotton  factory  in  a  conspicuous  part  of  the 
town  do  its  best.  Just  so,  we  should  not  expect  a 
man  who  has  made  little  progress  in  the  divine  life, 
who  is  poor  in  this  world's  goods,  and  who  has 
little  experience  in  doing  the  work  of  the  church,  to 
be  as  consistent,  to  give  as  liberally  and  to  do  as 
efficient  work  as  one  who  has  lived  very  near  to 
God,  who  is  rich  in  things  temporal  and  who  has 
long  worked  in  the  Master's  vineyard.  While  Mr. 
Moody  was  conducting  a  protracted  service,  he 
called  for  volunteers  to  visit  the  homes  of  the  town 
in  which  he  was  holding  the  meeting,  to  distribute 
tracts  and  to  urge  sinners  to  take  Christ  as  their 
Saviour.  Among  the  many  who  came  forward  was 
an  infirm  old  woman  who  had  not  long  been  a  chris- 
tian. She  wanted  to  do  something  for  her  Saviour. 
Perhaps  some  thought  that  there  was  little  that  she 
could  do.  But  Mr.  Moody  was  encouraged,  as  he  no- 
ticed how  willing  and  how  anxious  she  was  to  do 
something  for  the  Master.  How  faithfully  did  she 
work !  God  was  doubtless  as  highly  pleased  with 
what  she  did  as  He  was  with  what  the  great  evan- 
gelist did,  althought  he  was  instrumental  in  leading 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  71 

many  from  darkness  into  light.  Some  of  us  can- 
not do  much  towards  leading  others  to  Christ,  but 
if  we  will  do  our  best  God  will  be  as  highly  pleased 
with  it  as  He  will  with  what  will  be  done  by  any  one, 
however  much  that  may  be. 

II.  We  should  not  measure  our  best  of  the  fu- 
ture by  our  best  of  the  past.  A  man  who  has  been 
farming  ten  years  should  be  a  better  farmer  than 
he  was  when  he  began  to  farm.  He  should  be  a 
better  farmer  than  he  was  a  year  ago.  A  physician 
who  has  been  practicing  five  years  should  be  more 
successful  than  he  was  when  he  began  to  practice. 
Professional  men  should  year  by  year  become  more 
efficient  in  their  respective  callings.  Just  so,  the 
man  who  gave  his  heart  to  God  a  year  ago  should  be 
more  consistent  in  his  conduct,  more  liberal  with 
his  means  and  more  efficient  in  the  work  that  he 
does  for  the  Master  than  he  was  then.  Just  so 
should  it  be  with  the  church.  She  should  not  be 
satisfied  with  her  past  and  present  attainments.  If 
there  is  no  progress  in  her  gifts,  in  her  personal 
work  for  the  Master  and  in  the  walk  and  conversa- 
tion of  her  members  she  is  not  doing  her  best. 
There  is  danger  of  the  church  relaxing  her  efforts 
because  of  past  attainments.  What  she  should  do 
is  to  let  what  she  has  done  in  the  past  encourage  her 
to  go  forward  and  accomplish  greater  things.  A 
woman  who  had  been  a  nominal  christian  for  years, 
and  who  did  not  realize  that  there  was  any  work 


^2  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

that  she  could  do  for  the  Master  was,  during  a  pro- 
tracted meeting,  aroused  to  a  deep  sense  of  her  duty 
and  responsibihty.  She  determined  to  do  some- 
thing for  Christ.  She  decided  that  she  would  try 
to  lift  up  the  fallen  women  of  the  place.  She  talked 
to  them  as  she  met  them  on  the  streets.  She  rented 
a  house  and  invited  them  to  meet  her  there.  In 
about  a  year  she  rescued  about  three  hundred  of 
these  fallen  ones  and  restored  them  to  their  parents. 
If  we  could  realize  as.  she  did,  that  there  is  a  great 
work  to  be  done  and  go  forward  and  do  it,  and  never 
be  satisfied  with  past  attainments  what  would  we 
not  accomplish  for  God  and  our  fellow-man  ?  Have 
you  done  much  in  the  past  ?  Do  more  in  the  future. 
You  have  experience,  and  knowledge,  and  grace, 
and  opportunity  that  you  did  not  have  a  year  ago. 
III.  We  do  our  best  when  what  we  do  is  directed 
to  a  good  end.  Had  Mary  anointed  her  own  person 
with  the  costly  ointment,  or  used  it  to  make  fragrant 
her  home  she  would  not  have  done  her  best.  Had 
Martha  prepared  a  meal  only  for  the  members  of 
her  home,  or  had  she  not  thrown  open  the  doors 
of  her  home  for  Christ  and  His  disciples  she  would 
not  have  done  her  best.  We  do  our  best  when  what 
we  do  is  done  for  the  honor  and  glory  of  Christ. 
"Whether  therefore  ye  eat,  or  drink,  or  whatsoever 
ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God."  If  you  throw 
your  whole  soul  in  singing  a  hymn  that  is  wanting 
in  sentiment,  or  if  you  make  an  eloquent  address 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  73 

that  has  a  low  subject  you  have  not  done  your  best. 
Just  so,  if  what  you  do,  you  do  only  for  yourself, 
or  if  you  do  it  from  a  selfish  motive,  you  certainly 
have  not  done  your  best.  A  shoemaker  once  said 
that  making  shoes  was  not  his  business — that  serv- 
ing God  was  his  business — that  he  made  shoes  to 
pay  expenses.  He  did  his  best.  He  realized  that 
the  chief  end  of  man  was  to  glorify  God  and  enjoy 
him  forever.  The  money  that  he  made  by  making 
shoes  he  made  subservient  to  serving  God.  How 
different  is  it  with  many  people !  Their  main  busi- 
ness is  making  money.  Serving  God  is  a  sub- 
ordinate matter.  If  anything  is  left  after  they  have 
enjoyed  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life  they  give 
it  to  God,  but  very  unwillingly.  Only  the  fragments 
of  their  time  and  means  they  give  to  God.  What 
they  do  is  directed  to  a  selfish  end,  or  is  done  from  a 
selfish  motive.  They  serve  not  Christ  but  them- 
selves. Their  service  needs  to  be  cleansed,  or  placed 
upon  a  higher  plane.  A  young  man  who  had  taken 
lessons  in  painting,  after  trying  hard  to  paint  a 
scene,  became  weary  and  fell  asleep.  His  teacher, 
seeing  him  asleep  and  knowing  that  he  had  tried 
hard  but  in  vain  to  paint  the  scene,  with  a  few  strokes 
of  his  brush  gave  the  work  that  the  young  man 
had  done  the  beauty  that  he  had  tried  hard  to 
portray.  Just  so,  the  blemishes  and  imperfections 
of  the  service  that  we  often  render  need  to  be  re- 
moved.   The  selfish  motives  that  prompt  us  need  to 


74  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

be  replaced  by  pure  and  unselfish  motives.  Here 
is  a  man  who  helps  people  from  whom  he  expects 
to  receive,  or  who  have  helped  him,  or  people  who 
are  blessed  with  excellent  mental  and  moral  qual- 
ities, but  he  is  slow  to  give  a  helping  hand  to  poor 
people,  or  people  who  are  not  in  a  condition  to  help 
him,  or  to  ignorant  and  immoral  people.  He  gives 
liberally  towards  maintaining  the  ordinances  of  his 
oivn  church,  but  he  gives  little  or  nothing  to  other 
causes.  Now,  however  faithful  or  liberal  he  may 
be  in  the  respects  mentioned,  he  fails  to  do  his  best, 
because  a  selfish  motive  actuated  him.  He  has 
served  not  Christ  but  himself.  If  we  would  serve 
our  fellow-men,  not  simply  for  their  own  sake, 
but  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  then  would  our  service 
be  rendered  in  the  right  spirit — then  would  it  be 
directed  to  the  right  end.  "Inasmuch  as  ye  have 
done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren 
ye  have  done  it  unto  me." 

IV.  We  do  our  best  when  what  we  do  touches 
all  of  our  surroundings.  The  fragrance  of  the 
ointment  used  by  Mary  upon  the  person  of  Christ 
penetrated  every  corner  of  the  house.  There  was 
not  a  person  in  the  house  but  who  was  cheered  by 
it.  Even  Mary  herself  derived  a  benefit  from  it. 
If  we  do  our  best  people  far  and  near  will  be 
benefitted  by  it.  The  housekeeper  who  discharges 
faithfully  her  household  duties  benefits  every  mem- 
ber of  her  home.     The  boy   who  applies   himself 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  75 

closely  to  his  studies  exerts  an  influence  for  good 
over  every  one  in  the  school.  The  mill  hand,  who 
does  faithfully  his  work,  makes  an  impression  on 
every  hand  and  manager  in  the  mill.  A  church 
member  who  faithfully  exerts  himself  to  glorify 
Christ  is  not  as  a  candle  placed  under  a  bushel,  but 
he  is  as  a  candle  placed  on  a  candlestick,  and  that 
gives  light  to  all  that  are  in  the  house.  A  church 
that  is  doing  its  best  benefits  not  only  those  of  its 
own  neighborhood  and  country,  but  it  benefits  thou- 
sands of  other  neighborhoods  and  countries.  If 
we  are  not  sending  blessings  to  the  heathen  and 
others  at  a  distance  who  are  needing  our  help  we 
are  not  doing  our  best. 

V.  We  do  our  best  when  what  we  do  is  done 
through  love  for  the  Saviour.  It  was  great  love 
for  the  Saviour  that  influenced  Mary  to  anoint  His 
person  with  such  costly  ointment.  It  is  well  for  us  to 
serve  God  through  gratitude,  or  from  sense  of  duty, 
but  it  is  better  for  us  to  serve  Him  because  we  love 
Him.  When  we  do  this  His  yoke  will  be  easy  and 
His  burden  will  be  light  to  us.  We  will  then  be  will- 
ing to  make  sacrifices  and  bear  hardships  for  his 
sake.  It  is  not  hard  for  a  mother  to  sit  at  the  bed- 
side of  a  loved  one  upon  whom  the  hand  of  sick- 
ness has  been  placed.  What  she  does  for  him  she 
does  cheerfully.  In  the  same  way  do  people  who 
love  the  Saviour  serve  Him. 


76  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

A  missionary  and  his  wife,  after  laboring-  for 
many  years  in  India,  decided  to  return  to  this 
country  that  their  children  might  be  educated.  They 
had  not  been  here  long  before  they  received  a  letter 
from  the  people  among  whom  they  had  been  labor- 
ing, urging  them  to  return  to  them.  They  longed 
to  return  to  them,  but  well  did  they  know  that  their 
children  could  not  be  educated  there.  So  they  de- 
cided to  leave  their  children  in  this  country,  fully 
realizing  that  they  might  never  see  them  again. 
On  the  day  of  their  departure  their  hearts  were  sad, 
but  for  the  sake  of  their  children  they  kept  back 
their  tears.  The  mother  said  as  she  turned  away 
from  them,  "It  is  for  thy  sake,  dear  Saviour,  that 
I  make  this  sacrifice."  What  would  not  a  true 
christian  do  for  Christ's  sake?  If  we  love  Him, 
we  will  gladly,  for  His  sake,  make  any  sacrifice,  bear 
any  hardship  and  fight  against  any  sin.  Few  vic- 
tories would  soldiers  achieve  if  they  should  fight 
simply  from  sense  of  duty,  but  there  is  no  telling 
how  many  victories  they  w^ould  achieve  if  they 
should  be  actuated  by  love  for  their  general  and 
their  country.  Just  so,  our  gifts  to  our  Saviour,  our 
zeal  in  His  vineyard  and  our  victories  over  our 
spiritual  foes  will  be  in  proportion  to  our  love  for 
Him.  A  physician  may  attain  success  in  his  pro- 
fession without  loving  his  patients ;  a  lawyer  may 
succeed  and  not  love  his  clients ;  a  merchant  may 
carry  on  a  successful  business  and  not  love  his  cus- 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  *jy 

tomers,  but  that  men  may  do  successful  work  for 
God  they  must  love  Him. 

VI.  God  will  make  better  our  best.  The  Saviour 
made  better  Mary's  best.  He  declared  that  wher- 
ever the  gospel  would  be  preached  this  act  of  hers 
would  be  spoken  of  as  a  memorial  of  her.  King- 
doms have  risen  and  fallen,  kings  and  princes  have 
lived  and  passed  away,  but  this  act  of  Mary  will 
live  as  long  as  the  eternal  ages.  Thousands  have 
by  reading  this  narrative  and  hearing  it  preached 
from,  been  influenced  to  give  more  liberally  to  God 
and  to  work  more  faithfully  in  His  vineyard.  Just 
so,  the  kind  words  that  we  speak  and  the  kind  deeds 
that  we  perform  will  be  living  long  after  we  have 
passed  into  eternity.  They  will  produce  a  wave  of 
influence  that  will  continue  to  spread  until  it  strikes 
against  the  shore  of  eternity.  God  will  make  better 
our  best.  The  few  loaves  and  fishes  that  the  lad 
placed  into  Jesus'  hands  would  not  have  multiplied 
had  he  used  them  to  supply  his  own  wants,  but  be- 
cause they  were  blessed  by  the  Saviour,  they  fed 
multitudes.  If  the  blessing  of  Jesus  rests  upon 
what  we  give  or  do,  it  will  bring  forth  an  hundred- 
fold. There  is  a  legend  to  the  effect  that  when  cer- 
tain people  heard  that  their  king  was  returning 
home  they  made  preparation  for  his  coming.  They 
beautified  their  houses  and  the  streets  of  their  little 
town.  On  the  day  of  his  return  they  laid  down 
to  rest.     When  they  awoke  they  found  that  their 


yS  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

king  had  come  and  that  he  had  transformed  their 
humble  homes  into  palaces  and  the  streets  of  their 
town  into  streets  of  gold.  This  is  only  a  legend, 
but  it  illustrates  the  thought  that  God  will  make 
better  our  best.  If  you  should  lead  some  one  to 
Christ  you  will  find  in  eternity  that  because  you  did 
so  the  souls  of  thousands  were  saved.  If  you  give 
a  few  cents  towards  giving  the  gospel  to  the  heathen, 
in  five  years  the  few  cents  will  have  increased  more 
than  one  hundred- fold.  If  you  speak  a  comfort- 
ing word  to  an  afflicted  soul  you  will  doubtless  dis- 
cover in  eternity  that  that  word  was  a  means  of 
comfort  to  thousand  of  other  souls.  God  will  make 
better  your  best. 

VII.  Our  best  will  be  criticised.  Mary's  best 
was  criticised.  Judas  and  the  other  Apostles  de- 
clared that  the  ointment  should  have  been  sold  and 
its  proceeds  given  to  the  poor.  Just  so,  even  after 
we  have  done  our  best  it  will  be  criticised.  After 
a  member  of  the  church  has  done  all  that  he  can  to 
Jive  near  to  God,  some  one  will  say  that  he  should 
have  done  more.  After  he  has  given  all  that  he  can 
to  God's  cause  and  worked  faithfully  in  His  vine- 
yard some  one  will  declare  that  he  has  come  far 
short  of  discharging  his  duty.  After  elders  and 
deacons  have  been  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  their 
responsible  duties,  some  one  will  say  that  they  should 
not  be  officers  in  the  church  of  God. 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  79 

And  after  a  minister  has  thoroughly  prepared 
himself  to  preach  and  faithfully  visited  his  people, 
some  one  will  say  that  he  should  have  done  more. 

But  should  we  relax  our  efforts  because  of  un- 
kind  criticism? 

Criticism  should  influence  us  to  be  more  faithful 
in  our  efforts  to  serve  God. 


For  ye  know  the  grace  of  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  that  though  He  was 
rich,  yet  for  your  sake  He  became 
poor,  that  ye  through  His  poverty 
might  be  rich.— n  cor.  8:9 

PAUL  in  this  chapter  urges  the  Corinthians  to 
give  to  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem.  He 
reminds  them  of  the  hberahty  of  the  Mace- 
donian church — that  they  had  given  to  these  poor 
saints  beyond  their  means.  The  main  reason  that 
he  gives  why  they  should  give  to  the  poor  is  because 
of  the  condescension  of  Christ.  This  is  the  reason 
why  we  should  give  to  all  benevolent  causes.  The 
man  who  after  contemplating  the  condescension  of 
Christ  will  not  give  to  benevolent  objects  has  a  hard 
heart.  Gratitude  to  Christ  for  His  obedience  to  the 
law  and  His  death  upon  the  cross  is  the  motive  that 
should  actuate  us  in  all  of  our  service  to  Him. 

The  text  naturally  divides  itself.  It  teaches  us 
first,  that  Jesus  was  originally  rich ;  secondly,  that 
He  became  poor ;  thirdly,  that  His  purpose  in  be- 
coming poor  was  that  His  people  might  be  rich. 

I.  Jesus  was  originally  rich. 

I.  He  was  rich  in  divine  attributes.  The  attri- 
butes of  God  the  Father  were  His.     ''Being  in  the 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  8i 

form  of  God  He  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal 
with  God."  He  was  the  brightness  of  His  Father's 
glory  and  the  express  image  of  His  person.  "In 
the  beginning  was  the  word,  and  the  word  was  with 
God,  and  the  word  was  God."  All  things  were 
made  by  Him,  and  without  Him  was  not  anything 
made  that  was  made." 

He  was  rich  in  power.  There  was  nothing  too 
hard  for  Him  to  do.  He  set  up  the  pillars  of  the 
earth.  By  the  word  of  His  mouth  innumerable 
worlds  were  brought  into  existence.  He  said,  "Let 
there  be  light,  and  there  was  light."  There  was  noth- 
ing in  heaven  or  on  earth  that  He  did  not  create.  He 
was  rich  in  wisdom.  It  was  His  wisdom  that  en- 
abled Him  to  contrive  the  plan  of  redemption,  and 
to  so  arrange  the  solar  system  as  that  there  would  be 
no  confusion.  He  is  so  wise  that  He  has  never 
made  a  mistake.  Many  men  of  great  power  and 
wisdom  can  be  found.  But  where  is  the  man  who 
is  as  wise  and  powerful  as  was  the  Son  of  God 
before  He  left  His  throne  on  high?  He  was  infinite 
not  only  in  power  and  wisdom,  but  also  in  justice, 
goodness  and  truth.  He  was  rich  also  in  posses- 
sions. There  was  nothing  that  He  did  not  own. 
The  earth  and  the  fulness  thereof  were  His.  The 
cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills  were  His.  The  gold, 
the  silver,  and  all  the  pearls  and  diamonds  of  the 
earth  were  His.  He  could  point  to  the  beasts  of  the 
fields,  to  the  fowls  of  the  air  and  to  all  intelligent 


82  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

beings,  both  on  earth  and  in  heaven,  and  say  all 
these  are  mine.  In  whatever  direction  He  looked 
He  could  see  nothing  except  His  own. 

He  was  rich  also  in  honors. 

However  rich  a  man  is,  if  he  is  in  shame 
and  disgrace  he  is  poor  indeed.  No  one  has 
ever  been  honored  as  was  our  Saviour.  Upon 
all  space  was  written  the  inscription,  ''Glory 
be  unto  God."  Moment  after  moment  incense 
of  praise  went  up  to  His  throne,  not  only 
from  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  but  from  the 
bright  spirits  that  stood  before  His  throne.  The 
angels  followed  Him  to  this  world  and  exclaimed, 
"Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace, 
and  good  will  to  men." 

He  was  rich    also  in  love. 

However  rich  in  this  world's  goods  a  man 
may  be,  if  he  is  not  loved  he  is  the  poorest 
of  the  poor.  I  would  rather  be  a  pauper 
and  be  loved  than  a  rich  man  and  be  without 
love.  Our  Saviour  was  not  loved  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  this  world.  He  was  not  loved  even  by  His 
own  people.  He  came  unto  His  own,  but  they 
received  Him  not.  But  He  was  loved  by  His  Father 
and  the  angels.  He  was  His  Father's  constant  de- 
light. He  showed  His  love  for  Him  by  supporting 
Him  in  the  Wilderness,  in  the  Garden  of  Geth- 
semane,  on  the  cross  and  by  crowning  His  labors 
with  success.  As  to  the  angels,  it  was  only  necessary 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  83 

for  Him  to  speak  in  order  to  secure  their  obedi- 
ence, so  great  was  their  love  for  Him, 

H.  He  became  poor. 

His  possessions  He  exchanged  for  dire  poverty. 
His  honors  He  exchanged  for  ignominy  and  shame. 
His  power  He  in  a  sense  laid  aside.  He  exhibited  it 
in  behalf  of  others,  but  seldom  in  His  own  behalf. 
When  He  was  being  tempted  by  the  devil  He  could 
have  slain  him  with  one  blow  of  His  hand.  When 
He  was  assailed  by  His  enemies,  what  prevented 
Him  from  destroying  them?  x\nd  when  He  was 
defied  by  them  to  come  down  from  the  cross,  what 
prevented  Him  from  doing  so?  He  refrained  from 
exhibiting  His  power  in  His  behalf  for  your  sake 
and  mine.  Whether  you  consider  the  birth,  the 
life,  or  the  death  of  the  Saviour,  you  can  readily 
see  that  He  was  the  poorest  of  the  poor.  He  was 
born  not  in  Cseser's  palace,  but  in  a  stable  where 
the  ox  fed.  His  bed  was  not  in  a  cradle  of  gold, 
but  in  a  manger.  His  clothing  was  not  that  of  the 
children  of  kings,  but  that  of  the  children  of  the 
poverty  stricken.  While  His  parents  were  good 
and  respectable  people,  they  were  very  poor.  He 
was  taken  to  Egypt  by  His  parents  and  was  there 
a  stranger  in  a  strange  land.  When  He  became  old 
enough  to  labor  He  labored  at  His  father's  trade — 
making  His  bread  by  the  sweat  of  His  brow.  When 
He  became  a  man  He  was  poor.  His  clothing  was 
woven  from  the  top  to  the  bottom.     He  rode  not  in 


84  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

a  chariot  as  He  went  about  doing  good,  but  walked. 
He  was  dependent  upon  those  to  whom  He  minis- 
tered for  His  daily  bread.  When  He  saw  the 
fox  hurrying  to  his  den  and  the  birds  flying  to  their 
nests,  He  declared  that  the  foxes  had  holes  and 
the  birds  of  the  air  had  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man 
had  not  where  to  lay  His  head.  See  Him  in  the 
wilderness  as  He  hungers  and  thirsts.  He  who 
made  all  things  hungers  for  bread.  He  who  opened 
the  fountains  of  the  deep,  thirsts  for  water.  See 
Him  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane.  His  disciples 
would  not  watch  with  Him  an  hour.  He  was  alone, 
yet  not  alone.  He  was  poor  in  earthly  friendship, 
but  not  in  the  friendship  of  His  Father  and  that 
of  angels.  When  He  was  assailed  by  His  enemies 
His  disciples  forsook  Him  and  fled.  Even  Peter 
followed  Him  afar  ofl:'.  Poor,  indeed,  was  He  then 
in  the  friendship  of  the  world.  But  see  how  poor 
He  was  a  moment  before  His  execution  and  as  He 
hung  upon  the  cross.  So  poor  was  He  that  a 
crown  of  thorns  was  placed  upon  His  brow,  so 
poor  that  He  was  stripped  of  His  clothing  and  ex- 
posed to  the  sun.  So  poor  was  He  as  He  hung 
upon  the  cross  that  when  He  cried  for  water  they 
gave  Him  vinegar  to  drink. 

HI.  The  reason  why  He  became  poor — that  we 
might  become  rich. 

I.  Jesus  by  becoming  poor  made  us  rich  in  pos- 
sessings.     All  that  belong  to  Christ  are  the  chris- 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  85 

tians.  There  is  not  a  piece  of  gold  or  silver  that  is 
not  his.  "For  all  things  are  yours ;  whether  Paul 
or  Apollos,  or  Cephas,  or  the  world,  or  life,  or  death, 
or  things  present,  or  things  to  come ;  all  are  yours. 
*'He  that  spared  not  His  own  Son,  but  delivered  Him 
up  for  us  all,  how  shall  He  not  with  Him  also  freely 
give  us  all  things?"  You  may  not  be  rich  in  the 
sense  the  rich  man  is,  but  you  are  rich  and  your 
riches  exceed  his  in  value.  While  his  riches  are 
like  a  muddy  pool,  yours  are  like  the  gentle  flowing 
stream.  Your  granaries  may  not  be  full  to  over- 
flowing, but  you  have  all  that  you  need.  Though 
the  children  of  Israel  received  manna  only  as  they 
needed  it  they  were  infinitely  better  off  than  the 
Egyptians  whose  granaries  were  full  to  overflow- 
ing. No  Christian  should  fear  that  his  wants  will 
not  be  supplied.  God  has  declared  that  He  will 
withhold  no  good  thing  from  them  that  walk  up- 
rightly. 

2.  Jesus  in  becoming  poor  made  the  christian 
rich  in  things  spiritual.  Spiritual  wealth  is  far 
preferable  to  secular  wealth.  While  secular  wealth 
is  transient,  spiritual  wealth  is  permanent.  While 
only  a  few  can  have  secular  wealth,  all  who  desire 
spiritual  wealth  may  have  it.  While  spiritual  wealth 
is  essential  to  happiness,  secular  wealth  is  not. 
However  much  secular  wealth  the  ungodly  may 
have,  he  is  ignorant  of  true  happiness.  However 
poor  the   servant  of   God  may  be  in  this  world's 


86  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

goods,  he  is  happy  since  he  has  the  peace  that  this 
world  cannot  give,  neither  take  away.  The  source 
of  his  happiness  is  not  that  which  is  without,  but 
that  which  is  within. 

3.  Christ  by  becoming  poor  made  the  servant  of 
God  rich  in  promises.  Whether  a  man  has  any 
money  about  his  person  or  not,  if  he  has  in  his  pocket 
numerous  checks  signed  by  wealthy  and  honest  men, 
he  is  rich.  The  moment  these  checks  are  presented 
at  the  bank  they  are  honored.  The  promises  of  God 
are  so  many  checks  upon  the  bank  of  heaven.  God 
has  never  yet  failed  to  honor  them.  Are  you  in 
need  of  things  temporal?  Present  to  the  bank  of 
heaven  the  promise,  ''Trust  in  the  Lord  and  do 
good,  so  shalt  thou  dwell  in  the  land  and  verily  thou 
shalt  be  fed."  Are  you  in  trouble?  Present  to  the 
bank  of  heaven  the  promise,  "For  our  light  afflic- 
tion, which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a 
far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory." 

4.  Jesus  by  becoming  poor  made  the  Christian 
rich  in  eternal  things.  You  are  not  now  in  the  en- 
joyment of  these  things  but  you  will  be.  They  are 
as  truly  yours  now  as  they  will  be  when  you  shall- 
stand  in  the  presence  of  God.  Some  one  says  to  you, 
"Yonder  broad  acres  and  yonder  magnificent  palace 
are  mine.  Moreover,  millions  of  dollars  are  in  the 
bank  to  my  credit.  While  I  do  not  now  enjoy  these 
things,  they  are  mine."  Just  so,  may  the  servant 
of  God  reason  as  regards  eternal  things.    While  he 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  87 

is  not  in  enjoyment  of  them  he  has  a  title  to  them 
that  nothing  on  earth,  or  in  heaven,  or  in  hell  can 
take  from  him.  Servant  of  God,  you  are  rich 
in  yonder  pearly  gates,  golden  streets,  and  crystal 
fountains.  Lazarus,  while  lying  at  the  gate  of  Dives 
was  infinitely  richer  than  he  was.  It  was  not  long 
before  Lazarus  and  Dives  fully  realized  this. 

Since  the  Son  of  God  by  becoming  so  poor  has 
made  you  rich  in  all  of  these  things  you  should  be 
so  grateful  to  Him  as  to  be  willing  to  give  not  only 
to  the  poor,  but  to  both  Home  and  Foreign  Missions. 

"For  ye  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
that  though  He  was  rich,  yet  for  your  sakes  He  be- 
came poor,  that  ye  through  His  poverty  might  be 
rich." 


But  1  have  called  you  friends 

—John  15  :  15 

IF  THERE  were  no  affection  and  sympathy  be- 
tween men,  this  world  would  be  a  hell.  Few 
things  should  we  value  more  highly  than  the 
friendship  of  our  fellow-men.  I  am  sorry  for  a 
man  who  is  without  health,  means  and  knowledge, 
but  I  am  far  more  sorry  for  the  man  who  is  without 
friends.  However  poor  a  man  may  be  in  this  world's 
goods,  however  feeble  he  may  be  in  health,  and 
however  ignorant  he  may  be,  if  he  has  friends,  he 
is  a  fortunate  man.  But  on  the  other  hand,  however, 
rich  he  may  be,  however  strong  physically  he  may 
be,  and  however  learned  he  may  be,  if  he  has  no 
friends,  he  is  of  all  men  the  most  miserable.  If  you 
have  true  friends,  appreciate  them. 

Not  every  man  who  professes  to  be  your  friend, 
is  your  friend.  You  make  a  great  mistake  if  you 
for  a  moment  think  so.  There  are  many  people  who 
show  a  disposition  to  help  you  when  you  need  no 
help,  but  when  you  really  need  help  they  put  you 
off  with  cheap  sympathy.  When  the  sky  is  clear 
and  the  svm  is  shining,  they  are  very  profuse  in 
their  professions  of  friendship  for  you ;  but  when 
the  sky  is  overcast  with  clouds,  when  adversity 
comes,   they    forsake  you.     They   are   friends,  but 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  89 

they  are  false  friends.     Still  every  person  has  some 
true  friends. 

As  wicked  a  man  as  Herod  the  Tetrarch  was, 
he  had  one  true  friend.  When  the  emperor  banished 
him  to  France,  he  conveyed  his  estate  to  Herodias 
to  whom  he  had  been  wedded  unlawfully.  She  re- 
fused to  receive  it.  She  said  to  the  emperor,  *'Sir, 
my  love  for  my  husband  will  not  permit  me  to  ac- 
cept your  bounty.  I  lived  with  him  in  prosperity 
and  I  will  not  desert  him  in  adversity."  Though 
she  was  a  wicked  woman,  she  was  a  true  friend  of 
Herod's ;  though  she  was  unfaithful  to  her  first 
husband,  she  was  faithful  to  her  second.  Many  of 
us — perhaps  all  of  us — have  friends  who  would  be 
faithful  to  us  under  whatever  circumstances  we  may 
be  placed.  Men  have  given  up  their  time,  their 
money,  their  rank,  and  even  their  lives  for  their 
friends.  When  General  Byrd,  of  Virginia,  was 
about  to  be  killed  by  Indians,  a  chief,  who  had  been 
a  friend  of  his,  threw  himself  on  him  and  said, 
''Before  you  kill  him,  you  must  kill  me."  He  was 
willing  to  give  up  his  life  for  his  friend.  This 
reminds  me  of  the  friend  who  sticketh  closer  than 
a  brother,  the  one  of  whom  our  text  speaks,  Jesus, 
the  Son  of  God.  He  not  only  gave  up  His  throne 
and  bore  hardships  and  endured  persecution  for  us 
but  He  died  for  us.  "Greater  love  hath  no  man  than 
this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friend.  Ye 
are  My  friends  if  ye  do  the  things  I  command  you." 


90  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

Our  Saviour  also  shows  His  friendship  for  us 
by  interceding  for  us.  How  many  blessings  come 
to  us  through  the  intercession  of  Jesus !  Never  yet 
has  His  intercession  for  His  people  failed.  Dr. 
Chapman  tells  of  a  young  man  who,  when  the  Civil 
War  broke  out,  went  to  the  front  as  a  private. 
When  a  companion  of  his  boyhood  days,  Robert 
Lincoln,  heard  of  it,  he  sent  him  word  that  if  he 
wished  a  better  position,  he  would  intercede  with 
his  father,  the  President,  for  him.  He  did  not  ac- 
cept his  of¥er,  but  said  afterwards  that  often  when 
he  was  worn  out  he  said  to  himself,  "If  the  hard- 
ships become  unbearable,  I  will  get  my  old  com- 
panion to  intercede  with  his  father  for  me.  I  would 
rather  have  him  to  intercede  for  me  than  the  cabinet, 
for  he  is  the  President's  son."  No  intercession  with 
the  father  will  avail  as  does  the  intercession  of  Jesus, 
for  He  is  His  Son.  Our  petitions  are  feeble,  but  if 
He  presents  them  to  the  Father  they  will  be  an- 
swered. 

Jesus  shows  His  friendship  for  His  people  by 
giving  them  free  access  to  Him.  He  is  never  too 
busy  to  attend  to  the  wants  of  His  people.  Any 
one  who  sincerely  wishes  to  see  Him  will  be  ad- 
mitted into  His  presence.  He  has  never  yet  turned 
a  sincere  soul  from  Him,  "If  any  man  thirst,  let 
him  come  unto  Me  and  drink."  "Whosoever 
Cometh  unto  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out."  "The 
spirit  and  the  bride  say  come;  let  him  that  heareth 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  91 

say  come,  let  him  that  in  athrist  come ;  whosoever 
will  let  him  take  of  the  water  of  life  freely." 

However  busy  you  may  be,  you  would  hardly 
refuse  to  see  a  friend  of  yours.  A  minister  said 
that  he  once  went  in  company  with  a  friend  of  his 
to  see  a  governor.  The  watchman  sent  their  cards 
to  the  governor  but  he  said  he  was  too  busy  to  see 
them  then.  While  they  were  waiting  a  man  who 
was  a  special  friend  of  the  governor  passed  by  and 
said  to  the  watchman,  "I  wish  to  see  the  governor, 
I  will  not  keep  him  long."  The  governor  had  told 
the  watchman  to  let  him  come  and  go  as  he  wished. 
So  does  Jesus  deal  with  his  friends.  The  way  into 
His  heart  is  always  opened  for  them.  He,  by  his 
obedience  and  death,  has  broken  down  the  middle 
wall  of  partition.  He  has  opened  up  for  them  a 
new  and  living  way  into  the  holy  of  holies.  So  that 
they  may  boldly  approach  the  throne  of  grace  where 
they  may  obtain  mercy  and  find  grace  to  help  them 
in  time  of  need.  To  them  he  cries,  "Come  unto  me 
all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden  and  I  will  give 
you  rest.  Take  my  yoke  upon  you  and  learn  of  Me 
for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  of  heart  and  ye  shall  find 
rest  unto  your  souls." 

Jesus  shows  his  friendship  for  His  people  by 
looking  on  the  bright  side  of  their  character  and 
conduct.  While  He  does  not  countenance  sin  in  any 
one,  He  bears  patiently  with  the  short-comings  of 
men.     "He  knows  our  frame.  He  remembers  that 


92  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

we  are  dust."  "Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children, 
so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  Him."  If  any 
one  should  scandalize  a  friend  of  yours  in  your 
presence,  you  would  protect  him.  You  would  say  to 
him,  'Vhat  you  say  cannot  be  true.  I  know  him 
and  I  think  he  is  incapable  of  such  a  thing.  There 
must  be  some  explanation.  I  at  least  will  not  be- 
lieve what  you  say  until  I  have  the  facts."  You  are 
disposed  to  think  well  of  your  friend  though  he  is 
slandered.  Though  Satan  slanders  Christ's  ser- 
vants, though  they  are  weak  spiritually,  he  sym- 
pathizes with  them. 

He  shows  His  friendship  for  His  people  by  en- 
tering into  fellowship  with  their  joys  and  sorrows. 

When  joy  comes  into  your  life  you  want  your 
friends  to  know  about  it.  When  your  heart  is  bur- 
dened with  sorrow  you  tell  them  about  it,  not  only 
because  you  wish  their  sympathy  but  because  you 
know  that  they  would  be  grieved  if  you  did  not  do 
so.  Jesus  rejoices  with  you  when  you  are  happy 
and  sympathizes  with  you  when  you  are  sorrowful. 
His  message  to  His  disciples  through  the  angel  was, 
"Go  tell  my  disciples  and  Peter."  He  remembered 
how  Peter  wept  after  he  denied  Him.  He  knew 
that  a  burden  of  sorrow  was  still  in  Peter's  heart. 
He  wanted  to  remove  it  by  sending  him  good  news. 

He  shows  His  friendship  for  His  people  by  re- 
vealing to  them  the  secrets  of  His  heart.    You  have 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  93 

friends  to  whom  you  unbosom  yourself.  You  tell 
them  what  you  would  not  tell  others. 

Jesus  deals  thus  with  His  friends.  ''For  all 
things  that  I  have  heard  from  my  Father  I  have 
made  known  unto  you."  "The  secret  of  the  Lord," 
says  the  Psalmist,  "is  with  them  that  fear  Him."  To 
John,  Jesus  said,  "Him  that  overcometh  will  I  give 
to  eat  of  the  hidden  manna  and  I  will  give  him  a 
white  stone  and  in  the  stone  a  new  name  which  no 
man  knoweth  saving  him  that  receiveth  it."  Our 
Saviour  reveals  Himself  to  His  people  as  He  does 
not  to  the  world.  He  gives  to  them  peace  and  joy 
and  wisdom  that  the  ungodly  are  ignorant  of.  The 
man  who  wills  to  do  His  will  shall  know  of  the 
doctrine  whether  it  is  of  God  or  not. 

He  proves  His  friendship  for  His  people  by 
being  constant  to  them.  Oh !  the  constancy  of  the 
love  that  Jesus  has  for  His  people.  It  has  been 
compared  to  the  love  that  a  mother  has  for  her  chil- 
dren. But  it  is  nothing  compared  to  it.  "Can  a 
mother  forget  her  sucking  child  that  she  should  not 
have  compassion  upon  the  son  of  her  womb?  Yea, 
they  may  forget,  yet  I  will  not  forget  thee."  Jesus 
will  never  leave  His  friends.  He  will  not  forsake 
you  because  you  are  sick  or  poor,  or  weak  spiritually. 

H.  How  may  we  show  our  friendship  for 
Jesus  ? 

I.  By  loving  Him.  If  you  do  not  admire  the 
disposition,   the   principles,   or   the   character   of   a 


94  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

man,  you  cannot  claim  to  be  his  friend.  If  you  do 
not  love  Jesus  you  are  not  His  friend.  Many  who 
profess  to  love  Him  do  not.  They  love  something 
that  pertains  to  this  world  better.  John  McNeil 
says  Jesus  must  dwell  not  only  in  the  throne-room, 
but  on  the  throne. 

If  you  love  the  wine  cup,  or  your  ease,  or  your 
money,  or  your  finery,  or  even  your  loved  ones 
better  than  you  do  Jesus  you  are  not  His  friend. 

If  we  are  the  friends  of  Jesus  we  delight  in  His 
company.  We  are  in  the  company  of  Jesus  when 
we  go  to  His  house.  Do  we  delight  in  going  there  ? 
Also  when  we  pray  to  Him.  Do  we  delight  in  doing 
so  ?  Also  when  we  read  His  Word.  Do  we  delight 
in  doing  so? 

2.  We  show  our  friendship  for  Jesus  when  we 
obey  His  commandments.  ''Ye  are  My  friends  if 
you  do  whatsoever  I  command  you." 

"He  that  hath  my  commandments  and  keepeth 
them  he  it  is  that  loveth  Me." 

*Tf  any  man  love  Me  he  will  keep  My  sayings." 
"He  that  saith  I  know  Him  and  keepeth  not  His 
Commandments  is  a  liar  and  the  truth  is  not  in  him." 


Finally,  brethren,  whatsoever  things  are 
true,  whatsoever  things  are  honest, 
whatsoever  things  are  just,  what- 
soever things  are  lovely,  whatso- 
ever things  are  of  good  report,  if 
there  be  any  virtue,  and  if  there  be 
any  praise,  think  on  these  things. 

—Ph.  4 : 8 

THE  Apostle  in  the  words  of  our  text,  sums 
up  what  he  had  previously  said  to  the  Phillip- 
ians.  In  the  first  part  of  the  chapter  he  tells 
them  to  *'stand  fast  in  the  Lord,  to  be  of  the  same 
mind  in  the  Lord,  to  help  the  women  who  had 
labored  with  him  in  the  gospel,  to  rejoice  in  the 
Lord  always,  to  let  their  forbearance  be  known  unto 
all  men,  to  be  anxious  in  nothing,  but  in  everything 
by  prayer  and  supplication  with  thanksgiving  let 
their  requests  be  made  known  unto  the  Lord."  Then 
follow  the  words  of  our  text. 

He  tells  us  some  things  that  we  should  think 
about.  Thoughts  are  the  index  of  character.  *'For 
as  he  thinketh  in  his  heart  so  is  he." — Prov.  23 :  7. 
A  man's  thoughts  betray  him.  He  whose  thoughts 
are  upon  the  things  of  the  world  makes  little  effort 
to  please  God.     The  man  who  exercises  an  unfor- 


g6  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

giving  spirit  towards  his  fellow-man  would  do  little 
to  benefit  mankind.  Such  a  person  is  malicious,  and 
malicious  people  are  far  from  being  what  they 
ought  to  be.  Thoughts  also  react  upon  character. 
People  who  make  no  effort  to  control  their  thoughts 
have  little  strength  of  character.  They  become 
worse  and  worse.  We  are,  for  this  reason,  told  to 
keep  the  heart. 

I.  The  Apostle  tells  us  first  to  think  on  things 
that  are  true.  Spiritual  and  eternal  things  are  true 
things.  The  opposite  of  these  things  are  false 
things.  People  who  think  about  spiritual  and  eternal 
things  are  true  people.  You  may  safely  trust  them. 
But  you  do  a  risky  thing  to  trust  people  who  think 
about  earthly  and  sinful  things.  Quite  a  prominent 
man,  after  being  elected  to  the  French  Senate,  en- 
gaged some  rooms  in  Paris,  and  paid  three  months' 
rent  in  advance.  The  proprietor  who  was  an 
atheist  asked  him  if  he  wanted  a  receipt.  "No," 
he  answered,  *'God  witnessed  the  payment." 

''Do  you  believe  in  God?"  asked  the  atheist. 

"Yes,"  he  replied.     "Don't  you?" 

"No,"  answered  the  atheist. 

"Then  you  will  please  give  me  a  receipt,"  said 
the  great  man. 

He  was  right.  It  was  not  right  to  trust  a  man 
who  did  not  believe  in  God.  Any  one  who  does  so 
makes  a  mistake.  I  will  tell  you,  whom  you  may 
safely  trust — people  whose  minds  are  constantly  on 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  97 

divine  things.  You  will  find  by  reading  history,  that 
the  truthful  people  of  all  ages  were  those  who 
thought  often  of  true  things. 

2.  The  apostle  tells  us  to  think  of  honest  things. 
The  word  honest  means  in  the  original  language, 
honorable  or  reverent.  Think  then  of  things  that 
are  worthy  of  admiration,  or  reverent  things. 
People  who  are  irreverent  in  thought  will  be  irrev- 
erent in  word  and  action.  John  Green,  the  author 
of  the  "History  of  the  English  People,"  had  once 
the  privilege  of  spending  an  evening  with  Glad- 
stone. He  afterwards  said :  'T  am  proud  of  our 
leader.  He  is  a  man  of  so  noble  a  soul."  That  Avas 
a  great  deal  to  say  of  any  one.  Gladstone's  con- 
versation showed  that  his  thoughts  dwelt  on  noble 
things.  It  is  only  necessary  to  talk  to  men  to  see 
what  kind  of  souls  they  have.  Their  conversation 
betrays  their  thoughts,  and  their  thoughts  are  an 
index  to  their  character.  Irreverent  language  is 
born  of  irreverent  thinking.  Noble  prose  and 
poetry  are  the  result  of  noble  thinking.  If  you  wish 
your  life  to  be  a  noble  life,  think  of  noble  things. 

3.  The  apostle  tells  us  in  the  next  place  to  think 
of  just  things.  We  should  have  just  thoughts  of 
God.  Many  of  us  have  unjust  thoughts  of  Him. 
When  He  lays  the  hand  of  sickness  upon  us  or 
takes  our  loved  ones  or  our  property  from  us,  we 
declare  that  He  has  done  us  an  injustice.  God  has 
never  treated  any  one  unjustly.     He  is  incapable  of 


98  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

doing  such  a  thing.  Job  had  unjust  thoughts  of 
God  once,  but  he  saw  his  mistake.  Jacob  was  dis- 
posed to  think  unjustly  of  God  because  he  said,  "All 
these  things  are  against  me."  We  sometimes  show 
the  same  spirit.  We  should  also  have  just  thoughts 
of  our  fellow-men.  Most  of  the  trouble  in  this 
world  is  brought  about  by  men  and  women  thinking 
unjustly  of  each  other.  Ofttimes  when  you  are  think- 
ing that  some  one  is  thinking  unkindly  of  you  he  is 
thinking  well  of  you.  Let  us  not  be  sensitive.  If 
we  do  our  duty  we  need  not  be  afraid  of  the  thoughts 
men  have  of  us.  But  ofttimes  we  have  unjust 
thoughts  of  people,  because  we  do  not  know  the  cir- 
cumstances that  control  their  actions.  A  manufac- 
turer found  it  necessary  to  reduce  the  wages  of  his 
employees  10  per  cent.  A  committee  appointed  by 
the  labor  union  waited  on  him. 

They  demanded  that  the  10  per  cent,  be  restored. 
He  said  to  them:  "That  is  all  right,  gentlemen. 
You  have  just  as  much  right  to  demand  an  increase 
in  your  wages  as  my  stockholders  have  to  demand 
an  increase  in  their  dividends.  They  invest  their 
money,  you  invest  your  labor.  Select  your  experts 
and  bring  them  to  my  office.  We  will  give  them  per- 
mission to  examine  our  books.  If  they  decide  that 
the  10  per  cent,  in  your  wages  should  be  restored,  we 
>vill  gladly  do  so,  though  we  may  lose  by  so  doing." 
They  selected  their  experts,  and  the  books  were  ex- 
amined with  this  result :    At  the  end  of  three  weeks 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  99 

a  committee  went  to  the  manufacturer  and  said, 
"We  not  only  do  not  ask  that  the  10  per  cent,  in 
our  wages  be  restored,  but  we  ask  for  a  further 
reduction."  They  had  unjust  thoughts  of  the  man-u- 
facturer,  because  they  did  not  know  the  motive  that 
prompted  him  to  make  the  reduction.  Before  we 
feel  unkindly  towards  any  one  let  us  be  sure  that 
we  know  the  motive  that  actuated  him  in  his  con- 
duct towards  us. 

4.  The  Apostle  tells  us  to  have  pure  thoughts. 
"Whatsoever  things  are  pure."  If  you  are  impure 
in  thought  you  will  be  impure  in  word  and  act. 
Meyer  says,  "Impure  thoughts  lay  down  the  train 
lines  upon  which  the  power  of  actions  will  pres- 
ently proceed,  and  thoughts  set  up  the  electric  wires 
along  which  the  messages  will  flash."  Guard  your 
thoughts,  my  brother.  They  lead  to  action.  An  Eng- 
lish officer  caught  a  young  tiger,  and  brought  it  up 
as  a  pet.  One  day,  while  the  officer  was  asleep,  the 
tiger  began  to  lap  his  hand.  When  the  officer  awoke, 
he  found  that  the  rough  edges  of  the  tiger's  tongue 
had  torn  his  flesh,  and  that  it  was  licking  his  blood. 
He  reached  for  his  revolver  at  once,  and  shot  it 
through  the  brain,  for  he  knew  that  he  would  never 
again  be  safe.  Impure  thoughts  are  like  that  tiger. 
No  man  who  cherishes  such  thoughts  is  safe.  He 
will  sooner  or  later  be  impure  in  word  and  action. 

5.  The  Apostle  tell  us  again  to  think  of  lovely 
things.     It  is  strange  that  when  there  are  so  many 


100  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

lovely  things  to  think  about,  we  persist  in  thinking 
of  unlovely  things.  Henry  Van  Dyke  says,  "Think 
often  of  your  friends,  seldom  of  your  enemies,  and 
every  day  of  Christ.  Be  governed  by  your  admira- 
tions rather  than  by  your  disgusts."  Why  think  of 
earthly  things  when  you  may  think  of  heavenly 
things?  Why  think  of  sinful  pleasures,  rather  than 
the  pleasures  that  the  religion  of  Christ  affords;  of 
your  enemies,  rather  than  of  your  friends ;  of  your 
troubles  rather  than  of  your  blessings?  William 
Blake,  a  great  painter,  seemed  to  look  on  the  bright 
side  of  everything.  His  mind  was  constantly  full 
of  beautiful  thoughts.  When  a  little  girl  was 
brought  to  him  one  day  he  placed  his  hands  upon 
her  head  and  said,  "Little  daughter,  I  pray  that 
you  will  see  as  much  beauty  in  the  world  as  I  have 
seen."  When  a  friend  of  his  died,  he  said,  "I 
thought  I  would  be  taken  first.  I  regard  death  noth- 
ing more  than  going  from  one  room  to  another." 
On  the  day  of  his  death  he  composed  and  sang 
hymns  that  were  so  beautiful  that  his  wife,  as  she 
stood  by,  was  enraptured  by  them.  He  said  to  his 
wife:  "They  are  not  mine.  They  are  not  mine." 
With  such  faith  he  died.  He  saw  the  beautiful  in 
everything.     Even  death  was  to  him  beautiful. 

6.  The  Apostle  tells  us  to  think  on  things  that 
are  of  good  report.  By  these  things  he  means 
things  that  are  spoken  well  of — that  men  agree  in 
commending.     Ten  of  the  men  who  were  sent  to 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  ioi 

spy  out  the  land  of  Canaan  brought  back  a  false 
report.  Only  two  brought  back  a  good  report.  The 
ten  looked  on  the  dark  side  of  things.  They  looked 
at  the  giants  more  than  at  the  beautiful  gardens, 
fertile  lands  and  luscious  fruits.  In  other  words, 
they  looked  at  matters  from  a  human  rather  than  a 
divine  standpoint.  Joshua  and  Caleb  looked  at  the 
giants,  but  they  looked  at  them  through  eyes  that 
looked  at  the  promises  of  God.  They  believed  that 
while  the  giants  were  powerful,  God  was  all  power- 
ful. They  thought  of  things  that  were  of  good 
report.  Would  that  we  could  at  all  times  think 
of  these  things.  What  is  too  hard  for  our  God  to 
do?  Are  His  arms  shortened  so  that  He  cannot 
help,  and  is  His  ear  heavy  so  that  He  cannot  hear? 
Ofttimes  we  hesitate  to  undertake  a  work  for  God 
because  of  our  unbelief.  For  the  same  reason  we 
are  constantly  fearing  that  He  will  not  give  us 
things  needful,  and  that  when  trouble  comes.  He 
will  not  sustain  us.  For  a  like  reason  we  often  fear 
that  the  work  He  has  begun  in  our  hearts  will  not 
be  carried  to  completion.  Let  us  think  of  things 
that  are  of  good  report. 


Now  they  do  it  to  obtain  a  corruptible 
crown,   but  we  are  incorruptible. 

—I  Cor.  9  :  25 

PAUL  had  in  mind  the  Olympic  games — 
something  that  he  was  famiHar  with.  He 
doubtless  had  witnessed  them  and  taken  a 
part  in  them.  He  writes  to  those  who  doubtless  had 
witnessed  them.  He  compares  the  life  of  a  chris- 
tian to  a  race.  He  compares  it  to  a  fight.  H  Tim. 
4:  7 — "I  have  fought  the  good  fight."  We  have  a 
contrast  here  between  the  conduct  of  the  men  of 
the  world  and  that  of  the  christian. 

I.  The  folly  of  the  aim  of  the  world.  They  do 
it  to  obtain  a  corruptible  crown.  Their  aim  was  to 
obtain  a  corruptible  crown — a  garland  of  laurel  or 
olive.  This,  of  course,  was  not  all  they  received ; 
it  was  a  symbol  of  the  honors  that  they  received. 

The  victorious  athlete  was  highly  honored. 
Poets  sang  his  praises,  sculptors  were  employed  by 
the  government  to  carve  his  statue  and  sacrifices 
were  offered  to  him.  While  he  was  riding  in  his 
chariot  to  his  native  city,  flowers  and  gifts  were 
showered  in  his  path  and  a  breach  was  made  in  the 
wall  of  the  city  that  he  might  enter.  The  road  that 
was  usually  traveled  was  not  regarded  good  enough 
for  him.     But  where  are   all  the   honors   that  he 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  103 

received — the  crown  that  was  placed  upon  his  brow, 
the  statues  that  were  carved,  the  altars  that  were 
erected?  All  are  gone.  So  it  is  with  all  earthly 
things.  Honors  are  here  to-day,  gone  to-morrow. 
Wealth  takes  wings  and  flies  away ;  pleasures  are 
as  the  bubbles  upon  the  waves  of  the  ocean.  Many 
a  man  seated  upon  the  pinnacle  of  fame  to-day  will 
sink  into  obscurity  to-morrow ;  many  who  are  in 
possession  of  vast  wealth  to-day  will  be  beggars 
to-morrow ;  many  who  are  enjoying  earthly  pleas- 
ures to-day  will  be  miserable  to-morrow.  ''They  do 
it  to  obtain  a  corruptible  crown."  One  of  Bun- 
yan's  characters  is  represented  as  using  a  muck  rake 
while  he  is  gathering  together  the  dust  and  filth  of 
the  street.  Above  him  hangs  a  crown,  but  he  takes 
no  notice  of  it.  Many  people  are  so  busy  working  for 
wealth  and  honors  and  enjoying  pleasures  that  they 
have  no  thought  of  the  crown  that  is  laid  up  for 
God's  servants.  Such  things  are  transient.  Not 
only  so,  but  afford  little  satisfaction.  The  more 
wealth  and  honors  men  get  the  more  they  wish.  It 
is  said  that  after  Alexander  conquered  the  world 
he  wept  because  there  was  no  more  to  conquer. 
Such  things  injure  men;  they  injure  the  soul;  may 
be  a  hindrance  to  the  salvation  of  the  soul. 

II.  The  wisdom  of  the  christian  in  his  aim. 
"Now  they  do  it  to  obtain  a  corruptible  crown, 
but  we  an  incorruptible."  We  find  several  refer- 
ences to  this  crown  in  the  Word  of  God. 


104  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

Paul  calls  it  a  crown  of  righteousness.  II  Tim. 
4:  2 — It  is  a  crown  of  righteousness  in  that  only 
the  righteous  can  wear  it.  Crowns  are  worn  by  the 
wicked  in  this  world.  Many  a  king  upon  whose  brow 
sits  a  crown  is  the  vilest  of  the  vile,  but  nothing  that 
defileth  or  worketh  abomination  can  enter  the  pres- 
ence of  God.  Many  a  servant  of  God  is  troubled 
with  disagreeable  neighbors,  but  there  is  no  dis- 
agreeable person  up  yonder;  no  discord  or  strife  is 
there.  It  is  a  crown  of  righteousness  in  that  it 
consists  of  righteousness.  What  the  christian  is 
working  for  is  not  happiness  merely,  but  purity, 
HOLINESS.  Comforting  is  the  thought  that  heaven 
is  a  place  of  sinlessness.  Sin  is  the  source  of  our 
SORROW,  suffering  and  disappointments.  But  there 
is  no  sin  in  God's  presence. 

James  calls  this  crown  a  crown  of  life.  ''Blessed 
is  the  man  that  endureth  temptation,  for  when  he  is 
tried  he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life."  It  is  a 
crown  of  life  in  that  it  is  an  eternal  crown.  It  will 
not  grow  old ;  it  will  not  perish.  Everything  in  this 
world  shall  perish ;  the  most  magnificent  structures, 
your  homes  and  your  bodies  will  crumble  into  dust, 
but  the  crown  God  promises  to  those  who  love 
Him  will  endure  forever.  It  is  an  incorruptible 
crown  you  have ;  an  inheritance  that  is  incorrupti- 
ble, undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away. 

Paul,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  terms  it 
a  crown  of  glory.     He  tells  them  that  if  they  are 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  105 

faithful  when  the  Chief  Shepherd  shall  appear 
He  will  give  them  a  crown  of  glory. 

This  crown  is  a  symbol  of  honor  and  dignity. 
The  athletes  were  highly  honored,  the  men  of  the 
world  are  highly  honored ;  but  such  honors  are  noth- 
ing compared  to  tlie  honors  of  the  redeemed.  Christ 
tells  us  that  if  we  overcome  He  will  make  us  to  sit 
down  on  His  throne  even  as  He  overcame  and 
sat  down  on  His  Father's  throne.  "Come  thou  who 
hast  been  faith f til  over  a  few  things  and  I  will  make 
thee  ruler  over  many  things." 

This  crov/n  is  a  symbol  of  the  joy  of  the  re- 
deemed. The  joy  of  the  redeemed  is  the  joy  of 
Christ.  "Enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 
The  Christian  has  joy,  but  it  is  only  a  foretaste  of 
the  joy  of  the  heaven.  'Tn  God's  presence  is  ful- 
ness of  joy."  There  is  nothing  to  mar  the  joy 
of  the  redeemed.  It  is  a  joy  that  cannot  be  ex- 
pressed— unspeakable. 

This  crown  is  a  symbol  of  beauty.  Christ's 
prayer  before  He  was  crucified  was  that  His  dis- 
ciples might  be  with  Him  that  they  might  see  His 
glory.  Peter,  James  and  John  saw  something  of 
this  glory  on  the  Mount.  We  are  told  that  His  face 
shone  as  the  sun  and  His  garments  as  the  light. 
Peter  was  so  well  pleased  that  he  did  not  wish 
to  leave  the  sacred  place.  He  asked  that  he  might 
make  three  tabernacles — one  for  Christ,  one  for 
Elijah  and  one  for  Moses.     The  crown  of  the  re- 


io6  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

deemed  is  one  that  glistens.  It  shall  shine  as  the 
brightness  of  the  firmament  and  as  the  stars  forever 
and  ever. 

III.  Notice  in  the  next  place  the  wisdom  of 
the  world  in  the  pursuit  of  their  aim.  The  athletes 
represents  the  world.  What  did  they  do?  They, 
in  the  first  place,  denied  themselves.  Paul  says 
they  were  temperate  in  all  things.  They  were  tem- 
perate in  eating  and  drinking.  They  ate  nothing 
and  drank  nothing  that  injured  them  physically. 
They  underwent  severe  discipline  and  attended  the 
exercises  of  the  gymnasiums.  They  endured  hard- 
ships and  suffering  before  they  entered  the  race. 
They  had  only  one  aim  and  that  was  to  obtain  the 
crown.  They  ran  the  race  with  all  their  might; 
they  knew  that  no  slothful  person  could  win  the 
prize.  They  stripped  themselves  of  every  encum- 
brance ;  they  ran  with  patience  and  perseverance 
the  race.  All  the  men  of  the  world  are  striving 
to  accumulate  wealth  and  to  attain  honor.  They 
deny  themselves  and  endure  hardships  —  even 
jeopardize  their  lives.  Their  aim  is  single ;  they 
throw  all  of  their  energy  into  the  race  for  worldly 
things ;  they  allow  nothing  to  prevent  their  secur- 
ing them.    They  are  wise  in  the  pursuit  of  their  aim. 

But  how  is  it  with  many  Christians  in  the  pur- 
suit of  their  aim? 

IV.  We  see  the  folly  of  many  professed  Chris- 
tians in  the  pursuit  of  their  aim. 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  107 

How  little  do  they  deny  themselves !  If  the 
athlete  had  denied  himself  as  little  as  some  chris- 
tians deny  themselves  he  would  soon  have  lost  his 
breath  in  running  the  race.  There  would  have  been 
no  chance  for  him  to  win  the  prize.  He  knew  it. 
Many  a  professed  christian  seems  to  forget  the 
most  important  condition  of  his  salvation — self- 
denial.  'Tf  any  man  will  come  after  Me  let  him 
deny  himself  and  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  Me." 

Many  a  professed  christian  is  not  single  in 
heart  and  purpose.  The  athlete  allowed  nothing  to 
take  his  eyes  off  of  the  prize  that  was  in  the  hand 
of  the  judge.  Along  the  course  was  beautiful 
natural  scenery.  Beautiful  statues  were  on  both 
sides  of  the  course,  but  these  things  were  to  him  as 
though  they  did  not  exist ;  so  determined  was  he  to 
get  the  crown.  Is  the  christian  as  bent  in  securing 
the  crown  of  righteousness?  Is  he  concentrating  all 
of  his  thought  and  energy  in  the  one  great  end  of  life 
— the  one  thing  needful?  Concentration  of  thought 
and  energy  is  essential  to  success  in  everything. 
That  a  farmer  may  succeed  he  must  be  concerned 
mainly  about  the  cultivation  of  his  farm.  That 
merchants  may  succeed  their  hearts  must  be  set  on 
their  business.  Noah  succeeded  in  building  the  Ark 
because  his  heart  was  set  on  his  work.  Abraham 
lived  a  life  of  a  pilgrim  because  his  heart  was  set  on 
the  ''city  that  hath  foundation  whose  builder  and 
maker  is  God." 


io8  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

How  little  effort  is  put  forth  by  many  professed 
christians  in  running  the  race  that  is  set  before 
them!  How  slothful  they  are!  The  athlete  knew 
that  no  slothful  person  could  win  in  the  race — 
that  in  order  that  he  might  secure  the  crown  he 
had  to  run  with  all  of  his  might.  And  yet  how 
slowly  many  professed  christians  are  running  the 
race  set  before  them !  How  cold  and  indifferent 
and  luke-warm  they  are !  They  will  not  win  in  the 
race  if  there  is  not  a  great  deal  of  improvement 
in  their  conduct. 

How  many  weights  are  hanging  to  some  chris- 
tians ! 

There  is  the  love  of  the  world.  Instead  of  sub- 
ordinating the  acquirement  of  the  things  of  this 
world  to  the  salvation  of  their  souls  they  are  doing 
just  the  opposite.  There  is  little  they  will  not  do  to 
get  wealth.  They  will  act  dishonestly  and  even  stain 
their  hands  with  the  blood  of  their  fellow-man  to 
get  it.  Men  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon  at  one 
and  the  same  time.  "If  a  man  love  the  world  the 
love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him." 

How  few  are  running  this  race  with  patience 
and  perseverance ! 

They  serve  God  by  fits  and  starts — serve  Him 
to-day  but  forsake  Him  to-morrow.  The  athlete 
continues  to  run  as  he  started.  Had  he  not  con- 
tinued to  do  so,  he  would  not  have  won  the  prize. 
Just  so  must  the  Christian  do.     "He  that  endureth 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  109 

to  the  end  shall  be  saved."  Peter  refers  to  the  man 
that  does  not  persevere  in  the  christian  race  when 
he  declares  that  "It  is  happened  unto  them  accord- 
ing to  the  true  proverb,  The  dog  is  turned  to  his  own 
vomit  again  ;  and  the  sow  that  was  washed  to  her 
wallowing  in  the  mire." 

The  subject  affords  encouragement.  The  athletes 
had  encouragement.  The  thought  of  the  prize  en- 
couraged them.  Before  them  stood  the  judge  hold- 
ing the  crown  in  his  extended  hand.  Their  eyes 
were  upon  it.  So  with  the  christian  as  he  thinks 
of  the  crown  that  awaits  the  faithful  servant  of  God. 

Then  the  spectators  encouraged  the  athletes ; 
loved  ones  and  friends  cheered  them.  The  chris- 
tian is  encompassed  by  a  great  cloud  of  witnesses. 
The  church  militant  and  the  church  triumphant, 
loved  ones  and  friends  here,  loved  ones  and  friends 
gone  on  before.  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and 
God  the  Holy  Ghost  encourage  them.  Angels  and 
the  redeemed  encouraged  them.  But  the  christian 
has  encouragement  that  the  athlete  did  not  have. 
The  athlete  ran  the  race  alone.  The  christian  is 
attended  by  the  presence  of  Christ.  The  athlete 
ran  the  race  in  his  own  strength,  the  Christian  is 
strengthened  by  Christ.  His  grace  is  sufficient  for 
him. 


Follo\v    holiness    >vithout    which    no 
man  shall  see  the  Lord— Heb.  12: 14 

MEN  make  a  mistake  when  they  suppose 
that  their  souls  can  be  saved  apart  from 
hohness.  This  is  just  as  impossible  as 
it  is  for  them  to  live  without  eating.  I  could  not 
convince  farmers  that  they  could  reap  without  pre- 
paring their  soil,  sowing  their  seeds  and  cultivating 
their  plants.  It  is  just  as  necessary  for  men  to  over- 
come sin  in  order  that  their  souls  may  be  saved  as 
it  is  for  farmers  to  prepare  their  soil,  sow  their  seed 
and  cultivate  their  plants  in  order  to  make  a  crop. 
The  road  to  heaven  is  a  holy  road.  Nothing  un- 
clean shall  pass  that  way.  The  great  trouble  with 
some  people  is  that  they  make  the  road  to  heaven 
too  broad.  They  are  like  a  man  who,  while  passing 
over  a  bridge,  thinks  that  it  is  broader  than  it  really 
is,  and  as  a  consequence  of  his  mistake  he  is 
drowned.  The  souls  of  some  people  sink  into  hell 
because  they  make  the  road  to  heaven  too  broad. 
The  Apostle  declares  that  without  holiness  men  shall 
not  even  see  the  Lord.  Our  Saviour  taught  sub- 
stantially the  same  truth,  when  He  said,  "Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you  except  a  man  be  born  again 
he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God.  It  is  as  neces- 
sary for  God  to  sanctify  men  as  it  is  for  Him  to 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  hi 

justify  them.  It  is  not  the  guilt  of  men  that  makes 
this  world  a  world  of  sorrow.  It  is  their  sin.  It  is 
not  the  guilt  of  men  that  destroys  their  souls.  It 
is  their  sin.  If  God  should  receive  into  His  bosom 
a  vile  sinner  He  would  destroy  the  most  glorious 
attribute  of  His  being — His  holiness.  If  He  would 
not  allow  so  much  as  a  beast  to  touch  the  mount 
as  He  talked  to  the  children  of  Israel,  how  could 
He  permit  a  vile  sinner  to  enter  His  presence  and 
remain  there  forever?  Under  such  circumstances 
neither  God  nor  the  sinner  could  be  happy. 

There  are  many  passages  of  Scripture  that  show 
the  necessity  of  holiness. 

The  Bible  teaches  the  following  truths  in  re- 
gard to  holiness : 

I.  It  teaches  first  that  God's  servants  were 
elected  to  holiness.  Read  these  passages. — Rom. 
8 :  9 ;  I  Thess.  4 :  7.  Men  make  a  mistake  when  they 
claim  that  since  they  have  been  elected  to  eternal 
life  they  may  sin  as  freely  as  they  please.  If  they 
were  elected  to  eternal  life  they  would  avoid  sin,  not 
only  because  they  would  hate  it,  but  because  when 
God  elected  them  to  eternal  life  He  elected  them  to 
holiness  of  life.  He  elected,  not  only  the  end,  but 
the  means.  The  servants  of  Christ  are  members 
of  His  body.  Are  the  members  of  Christ's  body 
unholy  ?  The  Church  of  Christ  is  His  bride.  Is  the 
bride  of  Christ  impure? 


112  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

2.  The  Bible  teaches  in  the  second  place  that 
God's  servants  have  their  fruits  unto  holiness. 
Rom.  6 :  22.  Their  fruits  were  once  unto  sin.  Their 
fruits  are  now  unto  holiness.  **Ye  shall  know  them 
by  their  fruit.  Do  men  gather  grapes  of  thorns, 
or  figs  of  thistles?  Even  so,  every  good  tree 
bringeth  forth  good  fruit ;  but  a  corrupt  tree  bringeth 
forth  evil  fruit."  When  a  tree  is  in  a  flourishing 
condition,  it  brings  forth,  not  only  leaves,  but  fruit. 
Just  so,  every  true  servant  of  God  brings  forth  not 
only  leaves  of  profession,  but  fruits  of  righteous- 
ness. 

3.  The  Bible  teaches  in  the  third  place  that  the 
character  of  Christ  is  the  standard  of  holiness.  Rom. 
8:  29.  If  you  are  not  being  gradually  conformed 
unto  His  image  you  are  not  His  servant.  If  the 
conduct  of  many  professed  Christians  was  brought 
to  this  test  it  could  not  begin  to  stand  it.  Think 
of  Jesus  Christ  as  profaning  God's  name,  as  dese- 
crating His  Sabbath,  as  indulging  in  intoxicating 
drinks  and  as  dealing  dishonestly  with  His  neighbor. 

4.  The  Bible  teaches  in  the  next  place  that  holi- 
ness is  necessary  to  the  proper  worship  of  God. 
Ps.  24:  34.  Math.  5:  23-24.  I  Tim.  2:8.  Ps.  15: 
I,  2,  3.  Your  worship  is  only  outward  if  your 
hands  are  soiled  with  unjust  dealing  towards  your 
fellow-man,  if  your  hearts  are  impure,  if  you  exer- 
cise an  unforgiving  spirit  towards  your  neighbor  and 
if  you  doubt  the  promises  of  God.    Our  hearts  must 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  113 

be  right  in  order  that  our  hves  may  be  right.  Out 
of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speak eth. 
No  disease  is  more  dangerous  than  heart  disease. 
However  beautiful  may  be  the  face  of  a  watch  if  its 
works  within  are  out  of  order  it  will  not  keep  good 
time.  Just  so,  however  beautiful  may  be  the  out- 
ward walk  of  men  if  their  hearts  are  wrong  they 
cannot  render  acceptable  worship  to  God. 

5.  The  Bible  teaches  in  the  next  place  that  God's 
servants  are  created  in  holiness.  Eph.  4 :  24.  They 
have  put  off  the  old  man  as  they  would  put  oft"  an 
old  garment.  They  have  put  on  the  new  man  as 
they  would  put  on  a  new  garment.  Notice  that  the 
Apostle  descends  to  particulars.  If  you  are  God's 
servant  you  have  put  away  lying,  you  permit  not 
the  sun  to  go  down  on  your  wrath,  you  give  not 
place  to  the  devil,  you  do  not  steal,  and  you  do  not 
permit  any  corrupt  communication  to  proceed  out  of 
your  mouth.    Eph.  4  :  25-29. 

6.  The  Bible  teaches  next  that  God's  servants 
have  presented  their  bodies  to  God  in  holiness. 
Rom.  12:  I.  The  fall  affected  both  the  body  and 
soul  of  man.  So  does  sanctification.  If  we  are 
God's  servants  our  bodies  are  instruments,  not  of 
unrighteousness,  but  righteousness.  We  have  placed 
ourselves  upon  the  altar  of  God. 

Here  are  some  of  the  marks  of  holiness.  If 
you  are  holy  you  love  God,  not  only  because  of  what 
He  has  done  for  you,  but  also  because  of  the  purity 


114  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

of  His  character.  With  the  Psalmist  you  can  ex- 
claim, "Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  Thee  ?  and  there 
is  none  on  earth  that  I  desire  beside  Thee."  He  is 
to  you  Chief  among  ten  thousand — the  One  al- 
together lovely. 

Again,  if  you  are  holy  you  love  the  Word  of 
God,  not  merely  because  of  the  promises  it  contains, 
but  because  of  its  purity.  The  Word  of  God  is  the 
copy  of  His  character,  li  you  love  the  original, 
you  love  its  copy.  If  you  are  holy,  you  can  say 
with  the  Psalmist,  *'Thy  Word  is  very  pure,  there- 
fore Thy  servant  loveth  it."  Again,  you  can  say, 
"Oh,  how  I  love  Thy  law ;  it  is  my  meditation  all 
day." 

Again,  if  you  are  holy,  you  delight  in  the  duties 
of  holiness  toward  God  and  your  fellow-man.  This 
follows  from  what  has  been  said.  If  you  love  God, 
you  will  discharge  the  duties  that  you  owe  Him. 
If  you  love  His  Word,  you  will  do  what  it  tells  you. 
It  tells  you  to  love  your  fellow-man.  He  who  loves 
God  loves  his  fellow-man.  "If  a  man  say,  I  love 
God  and  hateth  his  brother,  he  is  a  liar." 

Again,  if  you  are  holy,  you  practice  habits  of 
holiness.  You  avoid  sin  in  every  form.  The 
Apostle  teaches  that  it  is  against  the  nature  of  the 
christian  to  sin. 

"We  know  that  whosoever  is  born  of  God 
sinneth  not."  While  a  man  may  drink  poison  or 
break  his  limb  it  is  against  his  nature  to  do  so.     It 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  115 

is  as  much  against  the  nature  of  a  servant  of  God 
to  sin  as  it  is  against  the  nature  of  a  dove  to  eat 
a  carcass  or  of  a  wolf  to  eat  grass.  If  you  are  a 
servant  of  God  you  hate  sin  not  merely  because  of  its 
consequences,  but  because  of  its  heinousness. 

The  Word  of  God,  however,  does  not  teach 
that  men  can  live  entirely  without  sin.  It  teaches 
that  we  can  and  should  be  relatively  holy,  but  it 
does  not  teach  that  we  can  be  absolutely  holy. 

When  the  Son  of  God  commanded  His  disciples 
to  keep  His  commandments  He  knew  that  they  could 
not  keep  them  perfectly.  He  taught  this  when  He 
reminded  the  man  who  called  Him  good  Master  that 
there  was  none  good  except  God.  If  no  other  words 
could  be  quoted  to  prove  that  men  cannot  live  en- 
tirely without  sin  these  words  of  the  Saviour  would 
be  sufficient.  The  commandments  cannot  be  kept 
perfectly  because  they  reach  the  thoughts  of  men. 
Our  Saviour  taught  this  when  He  said  that  if  a  man 
looked  upon  a  woman  to  lust  after  her  he  committed 
adultery  already  with  her  in  his  heart.  John  taught 
that  the  commandments  reach  the  thoughts  of  man 
when  he  declared  that  he  who  hates  his  brother  is  a 
murderer.  The  Bible  teaches  this,  for  its  tells  us  that 
the  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things  and  des- 
perately wicked.  Men  who  claim  that  they  live 
above  sin  do  not  realize  the  heinousness  of  sin. 
The  sin  that  is  specially  abominable  in  God's  sight 
is  the  sin  that  is  within.     Outward  sin  is  nothing 


ii6  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

in  comparison  to  inward  sin.  You  can  no  more  esti- 
mate it  than  you  can  estimate  the  salt  of  the  ocean. 
The  word  of  God  teaches  plainly  that  the  best 
men  of  all  ages  sinned  and  confessed  their  sin.  We 
are  told  that  Noah  was  perfect  and  upright  in  his 
generation.  But  did  he  not  on  one  occasion  get 
beastly  drunk  ?  Abraham  was  called  the  friend  of 
God.  But  did  he  not  lie  about  his  wife?  While 
David  was  called  a  man  after  God's  own  heart,  he 
committed  murder  and  adultery.  While  God  declared 
that  Job  was  a  perfect  and  an  upright  man,  Job 
uttered  such  words  as  these:  "If  I  justify  myself, 
mine  own  mouth  shall  condemn  me;  if  I  say  I  am 
perfect,  it  shall  also  prove  me  perverse.  If  I  wash 
myself  with  snow  water  and  make  my  hands  never 
so  clean,  yet  shalt  thou  plunge  me  in  the  ditch  and 
mine  own  clothes  shall  abhor  me.  Wherefore  I 
abhor  myself  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes."  But 
says  some  one,  these  men  lived  under  the  old  dis- 
pensation. Let  us  consider  some  who  lived  under 
the  new  dispensation.  The  Apostle  Paul  de- 
clared that  he  was  less  than  the  least  of  the  Apostles, 
later  that  he  was  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints, 
later  that  he  regarded  not  himself  as  perfect,  and 
still  later — near  the  close  of  his  life — that  he  was  the 
chief  of  sinners.  The  Apostle  John  penned  such 
words  as  these:  "If  we  say  we  have  no  sin  we  de- 
ceive ourselves  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us."  Again, 
"If  we  say  we  have  not  sinned  we  make  Him  a  liar, 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  117 

and  His  Word  is  not  in  iis."  They  tell  us  that  these 
passages  refer  to  the  unconverted.  Why,  then,  did 
the  Apostle  include  himself.  'Tf  we  say  we  have 
no  sin." 

The  trouble  with  the  people  who  claim  that  they 
can  and  do  live  sinless  lives  is  that  they  place  the 
wrong  meaning  on  certain  words  and  the  wrong  con- 
struction on  certain  passages. 

They  quote  such  passages  as  these :  "Be  ye 
therefore  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  which  is  in 
heaven  is  perfect." 

"Hast  thou  considered  my  servant  Job,  that  there 
is  none  like  him  in  the  earth,  a  perfect  and  an  up- 
right man,  one  that  feareth  God,  and  escheweth 
evil?"  "For  this  is  the  will  of  God,  even  your 
sanctification." 

Perfect  in  these  passages  refers  to  outward  con- 
duct. While  every  horse  is  a  perfect  horse,  every 
horse  is  not  a  faultless  horse.  A  tree  can  be  a  per- 
fect tree  and  yet  be  immature.  v\  christian  can  be 
a  perfect  christian  and  still  not  be  mature.  God 
could  not  have  meant  that  Job  was  sinless,  for  Job, 
as  has  been  seen,  declared  that  he  was  not. 

Sanctification  does  not  mean  sinlessness.  To 
sanctify  means  to  separate  from  a  common  to  a 
sacred  purpose.  The  Apostle  Paul  called  those  to 
whom  he  wrote  saints  and  yet  he  reproved  them 
for  sin. 


ii8  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

Let  us  notice  these  passages,  quoted  by  those  who 
teach  that  men  can  Hve  without  sin.  ''Whosoever 
abideth  in  Him  sinneth  not ;  whosoever  sinneth,  hath 
not  seen  Him,  neither  known  Him."  "Whosoever  is 
born  of  God  doth  not  commit  sin,  for  his  seed  re- 
maineth  in  him ;  and  he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is 
born  of  God."  John  in  these  passages  refers  to 
habitual  sin.  Many  to  whom  he  wrote  beheved  that 
because  they  Hved  under  the  gospel  dispensation 
they  could  sin  as  freely  as  they  pleased.  The  Apos- 
tle taught  them  by  these  words,  that  they  who  were 
born  of  God  did  not  habitually  sin.  No  christian 
does  this.  Again  these  words  refer  to  the  new  na- 
ture. The  servant  of  God  has  two  natures,  an  old 
nature  and  a  new  nature.  With  the  old  nature  he 
sins,  with  the  new  he  does  not  sin.  John  refers  to 
the  old  nature  when  he  says,  'Tf  we  say  we  have 
no  sin  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in 
us."  This  old  nature  will  not  be  eradicated  until 
death.  Paul  declared  that  in  his  flesh  was  no  good 
thing. 

The  Lord's  Prayer  teaches  that  men  cannot  live 
entirely  without  sin.  One  of  the  petitions  of  that 
prayer  is,  "Forgive  us  our  sins."  Our  Saviour  knew 
when  He  gave  His  disciples  this  prayer  that  they 
would  always  have  occasion  to  offer  that  petition. 
One  of  the  elements  of  prayer  is  confession.  Men 
who  do  not  confess  their  sin,  do  not  pray.  The  man 
who  boasts  that  he  lives  a  sinless  life  is  a  spiritually 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  119 

proud  man.  In  his  estimation  he  is  better  than  other 
men.  The  parable  of  the  Pharisee  and  pubhcan 
shows  how  the  Saviour  regarded  the  spiritually 
proud  man.  He  condemned  the  Pharisee.  He  com- 
mended the  publican.  He  declared  that  the  publican 
who  smote  upon  his  breast  and  exclaimed,  "God  be 
merciful  unto  me  a  sinner/'  went  down  to  his  house 
justified  rather  than  the  Pharisee.  Jesus  gives  the 
reason  why  he  went  down  to  his  house  justified 
rather  than  the  other  man.  These  are  His  words. 
"For  every  one  that  exalteth  himself  shall  be  abased  : 
and  he  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted." 
Humility  is  one  of  the  most  essential  traits  of  chris- 
tian character.  Our  Saviour  declared  on  one  occa- 
sion that  unless  men  humbled  themselves  like  little 
children  they  could  not  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Experience  teaches  that  we  cannot  live  sinless 
lives.  There  is  not  a  christian  living  but  whose 
heart  tells  him  that  he  sins.  Observation  teaches 
that  there  is  no  person  but  who  sins.  Who  can  say, 
"I  know  a  person  who  does  not  sin  ?" 

The  Word  of  God  teaches  us  that  we  all  sin. 
Read  these  passages.  Prov.  20 :  9 ;  Rom.  8 :  7 ; 
Gal.  5:  17;  Phil.  3:  12;  Rom.  7:  10-25. 


He  is  not  here  but  is  risen 

—Luke  24 :  6 

THESE  words  were  spoken  by  two  angels 
whom  certain  women  found  at  the  tomb  of 
the  Saviour.  We  are  told  that  on  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  at  early  dawn,  they  came  unto  the 
tomb,  bringing  spices  which  they  had  prepared. 

Notice  some  proofs  of  the  resurrection  of 
Christ. 

I.  The  fact  that  no  proof  can  be  given  to  show 
that  He  is  not  risen  is  a  proof  that  He  has.  There 
are  two  or  three  theories  as  regards  the  resurrection 
of  Christ  held  by  His  enemies. 

I.  The  position  of  the  Jews  as  regards  the  matter 
is  that  Christ's  disciples  stole  his  body.  If  their 
position  was  that  Christ  was  alive,  and  that  His  dis- 
ciples endeavored  to  deliver  Him  out  of  the  hands 
of  His  enemies,  it  would  not  appear  so  absurd,  but 
that  they  placed  themselves  under  very  dangerous 
circumstances  to  get  a  dead  body  is  something 
that  we  cannot  begin  to  believe.  Had  they  made 
any  efifort  to  get  it  they  would  certainly  have 
been  apprehended.  Their  movements  were  closely 
watched,  not  only  by  the  Roman  soldiers,  but  by 
thousands  of  others.  Every  one  was  anxious  to 
know  what  would  be  the  final  issue  of  all  that  had 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  121 

taken  place.  They  could  not  have  wished  to  make 
the  body  more  secure,  for  it  was  far  more  secure 
than  they  could  have  made  it.  It  was  placed  in  a 
tomb  that  was  hewn  out  of  a  solid  rock.  A  heavy 
stone  was  rolled  to  its  mouth.  The  king's  seal  was 
placed  upon  it  and  Roman  soldiers  were  stationed 
around  it.  It  is  absurd  to  say  that  the  soldiers 
were  asleep.  They  were  paid  to  say  that  His 
disciples  stole  the  body  while  they  were  asleep.  But 
if  they  were  asleep,  how  did  they  know  that  the  body 
was  stolen?  Had  they  fallen  asleep  they  would 
have  brought  upon  themselves  the  penalty  of  death 
provided  by  the  Roman  military  law.  If  they  stole 
the  body  of  Christ,  what  explanation  can  be  given  of 
the  effect  that  His  resurrection  made  upon  their 
lives  ?  Would  they  have  preached  a  lie  as  earnestly 
and  faithfully  as  they  did  the  fact  of  Christ's  resur- 
rection? Would  they  have  preached  a  lie  in  the 
face  of  persecution?  Would  they  have  gone  from 
one  country  to  another,  and  would  they  have  laid 
down  their  lives,  knowing  that  they  were  preaching 
what  they  knew  was  false  ? 

But  if  they  stole  the  body  of  Christ,  the  Roman 
soldiers  should  have  been  put  to  death  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Roman  military  law  and  the  disciples 
should  have  been  arrested  and  punished. 

But  no  effort  was  made  to  punish  either  the 
Roman  soldiers  or  the  disciples. 


122  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

2.  Another  position  held  by  the  enemies  of 
Christianity  as  regards  the  resurrection  of  Christ, 
is  that  He  was  not  dead — that  He  was  in  a  swoon 
and  came  out  of  the  tomb. 

Let  us  suppose  that  He  was  not  dead.  We 
gather  from  the  sacred  record  that  He  hung  upon 
the  Cross  for  about  six  hours  with  nails  driven 
through  His  hands  and  feet.  After  He  was  treated 
thus,  how  could  He  have  rolled  back  the  great  stone 
and  come  out  of  the  grave  ?  How  could  He  have  in 
His  weak  condition  passed  the  Roman  soldiers? 
But  He  was  dead. 

His  enemies  were  determined  to  put  Him  to 
death.  We  are  told  that  as  the  Jewish  Sabbath  was 
near,  the  soldiers  were  anxious  to  dispose  of  the 
bodies  and  requested  Pilate  to  hasten  their  death 
by  having  their  legs  broken.  They  broke  the  legs 
of  the  thieves,  but  when  they  came  to  Jesus  they 
broke  not  His  legs  because  they  saw  that  He  was 
dead  already.  One  of  the  soldiers  pierced  His  side 
and  straightway  there  came  out  blood  and  water. 
The  fact  that  blood  and  water  flowed  from  His  side 
is  a  proof  that  He  died.  Any  physician  will  tell 
you  this. 

We  are  told  that  Pilate  was  not  willing  to  give 
His  body  to  Joseph  until  he  knezv  that  it  was  dead 
and  that  when  he  knew  of  the  Centurion  that  the 
body  was  dead  he  gave  it  to  Joseph.  Had  there  been 
any  signs  of  life  about  the  body  Joseph  would  have 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  123 

seen  them.  But  the  sacred  record  tells  us  that 
after  he  had  hung  upon  the  cross  for  six  hours 
with  nails  driven  through  his  feet  and  hands,  He 
cried  with  a  loud  voice,  bowed  His  head  and  gave 
up  the  Ghost. 

3.  Another  position  held  by  the  enemies  of  Chris- 
tianity as  regards  the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  that 
His  disciples  were  deceived — that  they  did  not  really 
see  Him. 

(a)  The  many  times  that  He  appeared  to  them 
is  a  proof  that  they  were  not  deceived.  He  ap- 
peared to  the  women,  to  Peter,  to  two  of  His  dis- 
ciples while  they  were  on  their  way  to  Emmaus,  to 
His  disciples  in  the  upper  room  at  Jerusalem,  to 
them  at  the  Sea  of  Tiberias  in  Galilee,  on  a  mount 
in  Galilee,  and  to  above  five  hundred  brethren  at 
once.  Had  He  appeared  to  two  or  three  at  different 
times  we  would  not  find  so  much  difficulty  in  be- 
lieving that  they  were  deceived.  But  how  could 
over  five  hundred  persons  be  deceived  at  one  and 
the  same  time? 

(b)  Their  doubtful  state  of  mind  prevented 
them  from  being  deceived.  Although  our  Saviour 
told  them  several  times  that  He  would  be  crucified 
and  that  He  was  to  rise  from  the  grave,  they  did  not 
expect  Him  to  rise.  Their  conversation  after  His 
death  showed  that  they  had  given  up  all  hope  of  His 
rising  from  the  grave. 


124  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

Yet  when  they  saw  Him,  they  beHeved  that  He 
actually  came  out  of  the  grave. 

Even  Thomas  who  was  of  a  more  doubtful  state 
of  mind  than  any  of  them,  when  he  saw  Him,  ex- 
claimed, *'My  Lord  and   My  God." 

Had  they  been  a  set  of  credulous  fanatics,  who 
had  predicted  that  He  would  rise  again,  and  who 
were  anxious  for  Him  to  rise,  we  would  have  some 
grounds  for  believing  that  they  were  deceived.  But 
as  has  been  stated,  they  did  not  believe  that  He 
would  rise  again. 

(c)  Their  association  with  Him  when  He  was 
living  prevented  them  from  being  deceived.  They 
were  with  Him  three  years,  walked  and  talked  with 
Him,  ate  with  Him.  With  no  one  were  they  more 
closely  associated. 

How  could  they  have  been  deceived  then  ? 

4.  Another  proof  of  Christ's,  resurrection  is  af- 
forded by  prophecy.  David  prophesied  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ  when  he  said,  "For  thou  will  not 
leave  my  soul  in  hell ;  neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thine 
Holy  One  to  see  corruption." 

The  Saviour  predicted  His  death  and  resurrec- 
tion. He  told  His  disciples  that  as  Jonah  was  in  the 
whale's  belly  three  days  and  three  nights,  so  would 
He  be  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  heart  of  the 
earth — that  the  Scribes  would  deliver  Him  into  the 
hands  of  the  Gentiles,  they  would  crucify  Him,  but 
that  at  the  expiration  of  three  days  and  three  nights. 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  125 

He  would  come  out  of  the  grave.  "Destroy  this 
temple  (referring  to  His  body),  and  in  three  days 
I  will  raise  it  up." 

HI.  The  rapidity  with  which  the  borders  of  the 
church  were  extended  afifords  another  proof. 

IV.  The  good  that  the  preaching  of  the  fact 
of  the  resurrection  accomplished  affords  another. 

What  truths  naturally  flow  from  this  doctrine? 

1.  That  we  have  a  living  Saviour.  He  inter- 
cedes for  us.    He  will  be  with  us  at  all  times. 

2.  That  He  has  conquered  death  and  the  grave 
for  God's  people. 

3.  That  life  and  immortality  have  been  brought 
to  light. 

4.  There  is  a  home  for  God's  people  beyond  the 
grave. 

5.  That  their  bodies  will  rise  again  and  be  fash- 
ioned like  unto  His  glorious  body. 


Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should 
go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not 
depart  from  it.-Prov.  22:6 

HOWEVER  much  wealth  men  may  accumu- 
late, however  many  honors  they  may  at- 
tain, however  successful  they  are  in  other 
respects,  if  at  last  the  souls  of  their  children  are  lost 
their  lives  are  a  failure.  Whatever  parents  neglect, 
they  should  discharge  the  duties  they  owe  their  chil- 
dren. A  mother  should  not  allow  her  household 
duties,  or  her  social  duties,  or  her  duties  to  her 
church  to  interfere  with  her  duties  to  her  children. 
If  a  father  must  neglect  his  farm,  or  the  duties 
of  his  office,  in  order  to  train  his  children  properly, 
he  should  do  so.  If  the  souls  of  your  children  are 
lost  it  would  have  been  better  if  you  or  they  had 
never  been  born.  The  words  of  our  text  are  a  com- 
mand. It  is  not  merely  a  privilege  to  train  our 
children  in  the  way  they  should  go.  It  is  a  duty. 
If  we  do  not  do  so  we  bring  guilt  upon  our  souls. 

I.  The  Command :  "Train  up  a  child  in  the 
way  he  should  go."  Not  in  the  way  he  would  go, 
but  in  the  way  he  should  go.  While  the  words  in 
the  original  read,  "Train  up  a  child  according  to  his 
way,"  they  really  mean  that  he  should  be  trained  in 
the  right  way — in  the  way  he  should  go. 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  127 

1.  Parents  should  give  their  children  the  proper 
physical  training.  If  they  neglect  the  physical  train- 
ing of  their  children  their  usefulness  will  be  im- 
paired and  they  may  be  brought  to  premature  graves. 
Parents  should  see  to  it,  that  their  children  eat  proper 
food,  take  a  sufficient  amount  of  exercise,  wear 
proper  clothing,  and  receive  a  sufficient  amount  of 
sleep.  It  is  criminal  for  parents  to  be  careless  and  in- 
different as  to  the  physical  condition  of  their  children. 
How  many  will  hire  careless  and  indolent  women  to 
nurse  their  children  and  concern  themselves  very 
little  as  to  how  they  are  treated !  How  many  re- 
quire their  children  to  do  work  that  is  difficult  for 
grown  people  to  do !  How  many  will  allow  their 
children  to  injure  their  health  by  confining  them- 
selves too  closely  to  their  studies !  Children  should 
be  educated,  but  they  should  not  be  allowed  to  en- 
dure hardships,  and  to  make  sacrifice  in  securing  an 
education  that  will  bring  injury  to  their  health. 

2.  Parents  should  train  their  children  intel- 
lectually. Education  is  next  in  importance  to  their 
spiritual  and  eternal  interest.  All  children  should 
be  well  educated.  Parents  who  will  not  educate 
their  children  should  be  forced  to  do  it.  Compul- 
sory education  is  not  a  bad  thing.  If  parents  who 
attach  little  or  no  importance  to  the  education  of 
their  children  were  compelled  to  educate  them,  both 
the  Church  and  State  would  be  better  off.  If  you 
refuse  to  educate  your  children  you  greatly  impair 


128  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

their  usefulness  in  life.  They  may  all  of  their  days 
be  compelled  to  labor  beside  common  laborers. 
There  is  no  excuse  for  any  one  to  neglect  the  educa- 
tion of  his  children. 

3.  Parents  should  train  their  children  morally. 
Great  importance  should  be  attached  to  the  education 
of  our  children,  but  greater  importance  should  be 
attached  to  their  morals.  However  well  you  edu- 
cate your  children,  if  you  neglect  their  morals  you 
have  done  them  a  great  injustice.  If  you  neglect 
to  train  your  children  morally,  education  will  be  an 
instrument  in  their  hands  to  do  harm.  To  train 
your  children  morally  means  to  teach  them  the  Ten 
Commandments — to  teach  them  that  they  commit 
great  sins  when  they  disobey  their  parents,  profane 
God's  name,  desecrate  His  Sabbath,  tell  falsehoods 
and  act  dishonestly.  It  is  exceedingly  necessary  for 
our  children  to  practice  good  habits,  for  the  reason 
that  the  habits  that  they  contract  and  practice  now 
will  follow  them  through  their  lives.  St.  Augustine 
declared  that  habits  unresisted  become  a  necessity. 

That  we  may  train  our  children  morally,  we 
should  guard  their  reading.  We  should  not  allow 
them  to  read  dime  novels,  infidel  literature  and 
criminal  news.     Bad  books  are  bad  companions. 

Again,  we  should  not  allow  our  children  to  be 
taught  by  godless  teachers.  The  influence  that  a 
teacher  exerts  over  his  pupils  is  exceedingly  great. 
A  godless  teacher  once  labored  for  an  hour  to  con- 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  129 

vince  one  of  his  pupils  that  there  was  no  truth  in 
the  reHgion  of  Christ.  The  teacher  afterward  be- 
came a  drunkard  and  died  one.  The  young  man 
soon  afterward  died  and  his  mother  greatly  feared 
that  his  soul  was  lost  because  of  the  influence  ex- 
erted over  him  by  his  godless  teacher. 

4.  Parents  should  train  their  children  religiously 
and  spiritually.  It  is  necessary  for  us  to  train  our 
children  physically,  morally  and  intellectually,  but  it 
is  far  more  necessary  for  us  to  train  them  religiously 
and  spiritually.  When  a  woman  asked  Charles 
Wesley  when  she  should  begin  to  train  her  child, 
he  asked  her  how  old  was  her  child.  When  she  re- 
plied that  it  was  six  months  old,  he  said,  "Madam, 
you  have  lost  six  months."  This  should  be  done  early 
in  the  lives  of  our  children.  It  is  a  mistake  to  say 
that  the  minds  of  children  should  not  be  biased  as 
regard  religious  truth.  You  do  not  wait  until  the 
weeds  in  your  garden  have  become  mature  before 
you  uproot  them.  Then  why  should  you  wait  until 
the  weeds  of  sin  have  taken  a  stronghold  in  the  soil 
of  the  hearts  of  our  children  before  you  attempt 
to  remove  them?  Some  parents  refuse  to  let  their 
children  unite  with  the  church  when  they  express 
a  desire  to  do  so.  Let  us  be  careful,  lest  when  we 
refuse  to  let  our  children  unite  with  the  church  we 
bring  upon  ourselves  the  condemnation  that  Christ 
pronounced  upon  those  who  offend  one  of  the  little 
ones.    A  prominent  minister  once  said  to  a  man  who 


130  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

was  hesitating  about  letting  his  son  unite  with  the 
church.  "As  soon  as  a  child  is  old  enough  to  know 
that  he  is  a  sinner  and  that  he  needs  a  Saviour,  he 
is  old  enough  to  give  his  heart  to  Christ."  If  your 
child  is  old  enough  to  love,  trust  and  obey  you,  he  is 
old  enough  to  love,  trust  and  obey  God.  There  are 
four  ways  in  which  we  may  train  our  children  re- 
ligiously and  spiritually. 

I.  We  may  do  so  by  precept.  Notice  God's 
words  to  the  children  of  Israel.  "And  these  words 
which  I  command  thee  this  day  shall  be  in  thine 
heart  and  thou  shalt  teach  them  diligently  unto  thy 
children,  and  shall  talk  of  them  when  thou  sittest  in 
thine  house  and  when  thou  walkest  by  thy  way  and 
when  thou  liest  down  and  when  thou  risest  up." 
Originally  the  head  of  the  house  was  the  priest. 
Even  after  the  Levitical  priesthood  was  established 
he  was  the  prophet,  priest  and  king  of  the  home. 
He  was  expected  to  give  religious  instruction  unto 
his  children.  But  let  us  remember  that  the  religious 
instruction  of  children  rests  equally  upon  the  father 
and  mother.  The  father  has  no  right  to  turn  the 
religious  instruction  of  the  children  over  to  the 
mother,  nor  has  the  mother  a  right  to  turn  it  over 
to  the  father.  We  are  told  that  God  made  man  in 
His  own  image  and  that  male  and  female  created 
He  them.  One  was  not  sufficient  without  the  other. 
Both  were  needed.  In  many  homes  the  mother 
alone  instructs  religiously  the  children  and  in  many 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  131 

homes  the  reverse  is  true.  Notice  the  words  of 
God — ''and  tJwit  shalt  teach  them."  The  father 
and  mother  should  not  relegate  the  religious 
instruction  of  their  children  to  the  minister  or 
Sabbath  school  teachers.  E-ven  if  the  pastor  and 
the  Sabbath  school  teachers  are  more  capable  of  in- 
structing your  children  than  you  are,  the  duty  to 
instruct  them  rests  upon  you — "  and  tJiou  shall  teach 
them."  The  words  teach  us  that  we  should  dili- 
gently teach  our  children  religiously.  We  should 
be  as  faithful  in  giving  them  religious  instruction 
as  we  are  in  making  them  a  livelihood.  No  duty  of 
a  secular  or  religious  nature  should  prevent  us  from 
attending  to  the  religious  and  spiritual  welfare  of 
our  children.  Then  the  duty  should  be  discharged 
constantly.  Note  the  words.  Day  in  and  day  out 
we  should  do  so.  At  all  times,  when  we  are  sitting  in 
our  homes,  when  we  are  walking  by  the  way,  the 
duty  rests  upon  us.  David  neglected  the  religious 
instruction  of  his  children.  What  was  the  result? 
2.  We  may  do  this  by  discipline.  It  is  a  mistake 
for  parents  to  let  their  children  do  as  they  please. 
One  great  difiference  between  Abraham  and  Eli  was 
that  while  Abraham  commanded  his  children,  Eli 
simply  remonstrated  with  his.  But  what  was  the  con- 
sequence as  regards  the  conduct  of  each?  God 
blessed  Abraham  and  his  seed  after  him,  but  he  re- 
moved from  the  house  of  EH  the  priestly  office. 
Parents  should  not  only  teach  their  children  religious 


132  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

truth,  but  they  should  see  to  it  that  they  put  it  in 
practice. 

Suppose  a  soldier  should  only  read  a  pamphlet 
on  how  to  use  arms  ?  Would  he  be  a  good  soldier  ? 
No.  He  must  practice  the  principles  he  has  learned. 
Just  so,  that  children  may  be  godly  men  and  women, 
they  must  not  only  be  taught  the  truths  of  God's 
Word,  but  they  must  practice  them.  Do  you  wish 
your  children  to  be  patient?  Then  not  only  teach 
them  that  it  is  their  duty  to  be  patient,  but  see  to 
it  that  they  exercise  patience.  Do  the  same  as  re- 
gards generosity,  truthfulness,  honesty,  reverence 
for  God's  name  and  His  Sabbath. 

3.  By  example.  We  cannot  expect  our  children 
to  do  what  we  do  not  do  or  to  avoid  what  we  do  not 
avoid.  How  inconsistent  would  the  conduct  of  a 
captain  be  if  while  he  is  leaning  over  he  should  tell 
his  soldiers  to  stand  erect?  What  would  you  think 
of  a  minister  whose  conduct  was  contrary  to  what 
he  taught  his  people?  Then  how  inconsistent  are 
parents  when  they  expect  their  children  to  do  what 
they  do  not  do.  H  you  wish  your  children  to  ob- 
serve the  Sabbath  you  must  observe  it  yourself. 
One  respect  in  which  David  failed  in  his  duty  to 
his  children  was  to  set  them  a  good  example.  He 
committed  murder  and  adultery.  His  children  fol- 
lowed his  example.  Children  are  very  apt  to  be  like 
their  parents. 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  133 

4.  That  parents  may  train  their  children  re- 
Hgiously  and  spiritually,  they  must  erect  an  altar 
to  God  in  their  homes.  This  is  one  thing  that  many 
of  God's  people  of  old  did.  Wherever  their  tents 
were  cast  they  erected  an  altar  to  God.  Thus  did 
Abraham  and  Isaac.  You  say  that  you  have  not 
time.  You  should  take  time.  You  would  lose  time 
by  not  doing  so.  You  say  that  you  do  not  know 
how.     You  should  learn  how. 

Nothing  is  more  necessary  for  us  to  do  than  to 
lead  our  children  to  Christ.  If  they  should  be  taken 
away  from  us  and  we  should  realize  that  we  had 
failed  to  do  our  duty  to  them,  and  that  their  souls 
were  lost,  great  would  be  our  sorrow. 


The  Good  Samaritan 

—Luke  10  :  29-37 

OUR  Saviour  by  this  parable  teaches  us  what 
neighbor  love  is.  We  cannot  separate  love 
for  God  and  love  for  our  fellow-man.  ''He 
that  saith  that  he  is  in  the  light  and  hateth  his 
brother  is  in  darkness  even  until  now."  This  para- 
ble was  given  by  our  Saviour  in  answer  to  a  ques- 
tion asked  Him  by  a  lawyer  as  to  who  his  neighbor 
was. 

The  parable  is  substantially  this : 

While  a  man  was  travelling  a  road  that  led 
from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho,  he  fell  among  thieves 
and  was  robbed  and  wounded  and  left  half  dead. 

A  certain  priest  came  down  that  way  and  when 
he  saw  him  he  passed  by  on  the  other  side.  The 
priest  made  no  effort  to  relieve  the  suffering  of 
the  unfortunate  man.  After  a  time  a  Levite  came 
to  the  place  and  treated  the  unfortunate  man  as  did 
the  priest.  But  when  a  certain  Samaritan  came  to 
the  place  and  saw  the  man,  he  had  compassion  upon 
him,  bound  up  his  wounds,  pouring  on  them  oil  and 
wine,  set  him  on  his  beast,  brought  him  to  an  inn 
and  took  care  of  him. 

The  man  who  proved  to  be  a  neighbor  unto  the 
unfortunate  man  was  not  the  priest  or  the  Levite, 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  135 

but  the  Samaritan.    He  showed  by  his  treatment  of 
the  unfortunate  man  what  neighbor  love  is. 

I.  His  kindness  in  the  first  place  was  one  of 
Spirit  rather  than  of  letter.  This  was  the  difference 
between  him  and  the  priest  and  the  Levite.  Had 
they  read  a  command  to  the  effect  that  if  they 
ran  across  a  man  who  had  been  robbed  and  wounded 
and  left  half  dead,  it  would  be  their  duty  to  minister 
to  him,  they  would  have  done  so,  but  since  they 
knew  of  no  such  command  they  passed  by  on  the 
other  side.  Their  kindness  would  have  been  of  the 
letter  rather  than  of  the  Spirit.  There  is  a  great 
difference  between  kindness  of  Spirit  and  kind- 
ness of  letter.  The  former  is  rendered  with  the 
heart,  the  latter  with  the  hand.  The  former  is 
rendered  through  love,  the  latter  only  from  sense  of 
duty.  Charity  is  sometimes  given  to  people  as  a 
bone  is  thrown  to  a  dog.  There  is  no  love  in  it. 
Money  is  sometimes  given  to  men  with  no  more 
politeness  than  hay  is  given  to  a  horse. 

H.  The  good  Samaritan  ministered  to  the  un- 
fortunate man  though  he  was  of  different  national- 
ity from  himself. 

The  unfortunate  man  was  a  Jew.  The  Jews 
were  prejudiced  against  the  Samaritans,  and  the 
Samaritans  against  the  Jews.  This  man  did  not 
allow  his  prejudice  against  the  Jews  to  prevent  him 
from  ministering  to  the  Jew  that  had  been  robbed. 
It  was  sufficient  for  him  to  know  that  he  was  in 


136  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

need.  We  may  well  be  afraid  that  many  allow  their 
prejudice  against  the  negro  to  prevent  them  from 
ministering  to  him.  He  is  depraved,  but  he  is  not 
so  depraved,  that  the  Son  of  God  cannot  save 
him.  However  depraved  he  may  be,  the  Saviour 
loves  him.  If  we  do  not  love  his  soul,  we  do  not 
love  the  Saviour.  Think  of  the  Son  of  God  as  re- 
fusing to  minister  to  the  negro  for  fear  of  putting 
himself  on  social  equality  with  him.  While  Jesus 
does  not  love  the  ways  of  the  negro  He  loves  his 
soul. 

True  love  knows  no  difference  between  white 
and  black,  Caucasian  and  Mongolian,  rich  and  poor 
when  they  are  in  need.  The  Apostle  Paul  declared 
that  he  was  debtor  to  all  men. 

HI.  The  good  Samaritan  ministered  to  the  un- 
fortunate man  though  he  was  of  a  different  religion 
from  himself.  He  did  not  require  him  to  accept  his 
doctrinal  views  before  ministering  to  him.  His 
duty  was  plain.  He  discharged  it  in  the  fear  of 
God. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  refuse  to  help  the  needy  be- 
cause they  are  not  members  of  your  church  or  be- 
cause they  are  not  servants  of  God.  We  are  told 
to  do  good  unto  all  men.  If  you  should  see  a  man's 
house  on  fire  you  would  not  require  him  to  repeat 
the  Apostle's  creed  before  you  would  help  him  to 
put  out  the  fire.  While  it  is  the  duty  of  a  church 
to  take  care  of  their  poor,  their  benevolence  should 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  137 

not  be  restricted  to  their  own  denomination.  We 
were  christians  before  we  were  denominationaHsts, 
and  we  were  men  before  we  were  christians. 

IV.  The  good  Samaritan  did  not  allow  con- 
sideration of  his  convenience  to  prevent  him  from 
ministering  to  the  unfortunate  man.  He,  perhaps, 
was  a  poor  man  himself.  He  did  not  contend  that 
he  was  too  poor  to  help  the  man  that  was  in  such 
great  need.  He  realized  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
do  all  that  he  could  for  him.  There  are  many 
people  who  give  little  to  the  benevolent  causes  of 
the  church.  They  give,  but  they  do  not  deny  them- 
selves. They  give,  but  they  give  only  that  which 
they  have  no  use  for.  Some  one  tells  of  a  rich 
church  that  sent  a  cast-off  box  of  clothing  to  a  faith- 
ful minister  of  the  gospel. 

Again,  this  man  might  have  said  that  he  did  not 
have  time  to  minister  to  the  unfortunate  man — that 
if  he  did  not  hasten  he  would  not  reach  home  before 
night. 

There  are  many  people  who  refuse  to  give  their 
time  to  God.  Let  us  remember  that  our  time  as 
well  as  our  means  belongs  to  God.  It  was  said  of 
the  Corinthians  that  they  gave  themselves  to  God. 

The  good  Samaritan  might  have  said  that  if 
he  should  be  seen  near  the  mi  fortunate  man  he 
would  be  suspected  of  robbing  him,  or  he  might 
have  said  that  he  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
robbers  himself.    How  many  people  fear  man  rather 


138  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

than  God !  They  give  but  they  do  so  from  a  sel- 
fish motive.  They  do  so  in  order  to  secure  the 
good  opinion  of  men  or  some  coveted  position. 

V.  The  Samaritan  ministered  to  the  unfor- 
tunate man  notwithstanding  the  unkind  feeHngs  he 
exercised  towards  him.  The  helpless  man  was  a 
Jew.  The  Jews  were  enemies  of  the  Samaritans. 
They  had  no  dealings  with  them.  They  called  them 
dogs.  Though  this  Jew  was  an  enemy  of  the 
Samaritan,  he  ministered  to  him.  He  obeyed  this 
injunction  of  the  Saviour,  "Love  your  enemies, 
bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them  that 
hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  which  despitefully 
use  you  and  persecute  you." 

VL  The  Samaritan  did  not  allow  the  peculiar 
circumstances  of  the  unfortunate  man  to  prevent  him 
from  ministering  to  him.  He  had  been  stripped  of 
everything  that  he  had.  He  was  in  a  destitute  con- 
dition. Sometimes  we  allow  circumstances  that 
should  influence  us  to  help  people  to  prevent  us  from 
doing  so.  The  poorer  people  are,  the  more  ready 
should  we  be  to  help  them.  But  just  the  opposite 
is  true  of  some  people.  They  will  not  speak  to 
poor  people,  much  less  will  they  help  them.  The 
Son  of  God  was  specially  interested  in  poor  people. 
One  of  the  proofs  of  His  Messiahship  was  that  He 
preached  the  gospel  to  the  poor.  He  was  poor 
himself.     The  Samaritan  might  have  said  that  the 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  139 

man  brought  the  trouble  on  himself — that  he  was  in 
a  drunken  condition  when  he  fell  among  the  robbers. 

Many  people  refuse  to  help  unfortunate  people 
on  the  ground  that  they  brought  suffering  on  them- 
selves. 

What  would  have  become  of  us  had  God  dealt 
thus  with  us?  Let  us  deal  with  needy  ones  as  did 
the  Samaritan  with  the  man  who  fell  into  the  hands 
of  thieves. 


Historical  Sketch  of  the  Westminster 
Assembly 

THE  meeting  of  the  Westminster  Assembly 
was  a  necessity.  As  we  read  of  the  cruel 
persecutions  that  were  inflicted  for  years 
upon  God's  people  by  reason  of  the  power  that  was 
exercised  by  kings  and  queens  in  ecclesiastical  mat- 
ters, we  cannot  do  otherwise  than  come  to  this 
conclusion. 

As  this  paper  must  be  confined  within  the  limits 
of  a  few  minutes,  much  that  confirms  the  state- 
ment that  the  meeting  was  a  necessity  must  be  left 
unsaid. 

However,  some  events  that  transpired  in  con- 
nection with  the  Church  of  England  during  the 
reigns  of  James  I  and  Charles  I,  show  that 
the  statement  is  not  groundless.  When  James 
I  ascended  the  throne  the  Puritans  believed  that 
their  sufferings  would  be  alleviated,  since  he 
had  been  educated  in  the  Protestant  faith,  accord- 
ing to  the  Presbyterian  standard,  as  then  established 
in  Scotland.  But  his  conduct  soon  convinced  them 
that  he  would  do  nothing  to  lift  the  yoke  which  had 
so  long  rested  heavily  upon  them. 

A  petition  for  redress  was  sent  to  him  by  the 
Puritans.      Counter    petitions    were    sent    by    the 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  141 

Prelatic  party.  At  Hampton  Court,  where  a  con- 
ference was  held,  the  king  acted  in  such  a  way  as 
to  lead  the  persecuted  Puritans  to  believe  that  he 
was  one  of  their  bitterest  enemies. 

After  their  objections  to  certain  features  and 
customs  of  the  Church  of  England  had  been  stated 
he  uttered  these  words:  "If  this  is  all  your  party 
have  to  say  I  will  make  them  conform,  or  I  will 
harry  them  out  of  this  land,  or  else  worse." 

A  refusal  to  observe  such  ceremonies  as  the 
Puritans  disapproved  was  treated  as  a  gross  sin. 
James'  persecuting  measures  to  enforce  uniformity 
of  worship  would  have  been  more  successful  had 
he  not  disregarded  the  privileges  of  Parliament  and 
the  rights  of  his  subjects.  When  Parliament  was 
unmanageable  he  attempted  to  rule  without  their 
aid.  He  replenished  his  treasury  by  illegal  methods 
of  taxation.  The  Puritans  became  popular.  Parlia- 
ment sympathized  with  them  and  adopted  their 
opinions.  Puritans  were  elected  as  members  of 
Parliament. 

The  struggle  for  religious  liberty  was  now  car- 
ried on  by  a  powerful  party.  The  conduct  of  the 
next  king — Charles  I — tended  to  make  it  more 
powerful. 

Seeing  that  his  wishes  were  opposed  by  Parlia- 
ment he  endeavored  to  dispense  with  that  assembly 
and  rule  as  an  absolute  monarch.  For  twelve  years 
no  Parliament  assembled,  and  money  was  raised  for 


142  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

the  king's  treasury  by  illegal  methods  of  taxation. 
The  king's  conduct  awakened  a  feeling  of  indigna- 
tion among  all  parties  who  loved  liberty.  Went- 
worth,  one  of  the  king's  counselors,  and  Lord 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  determined  to  place 
despotism  on  a  sound  basis.  Men  who  denounced 
evils  that  were  practiced  by  the  National  Church 
were  brutally  treated.  Great  dissatisfaction  pre- 
vailed on  account  of  the  enormities  that  were 
committed  in  the  name  of  law  and  religion.  About 
this  time  the  king  determined  to  force  prelacy  upon 
Scotland.  He  soon  discovered  that  he  had  under- 
taken a  difficult  matter. 

The  liturgy  which  he  commanded  to  be  pre- 
pared and  to  be  read  in  Scottish  churches  became 
exceedingly  unpopular,  after  an  infuriated  woman — 
Jennie  Geddes — hurled  the  long-remembered  stool 
at  the  head  of  the  clergyman  who  attempted  to  read 
it  in  the  pulpit  of  the  Church  of  St.  Giles.  The 
Scotch  were  very  indignant. 

A  document  was  drawn  up  known  as  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant,  in  which  signers  pledged  to 
labor  for  the  extirpation  of  popery,  prelacy,  heresy, 
superstition  and  other  things  that  were  a  hindrance 
to  the  reformation  of  the  church.  It  was  sent  into 
all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  The  king,  regarding  the 
movement  as  rebellion,  marched  at  the  head  of  an 
army  to  suppress  it.  No  sooner  had  he  reached 
Scotland  than  he  found  that  he  had  an  army  to  con- 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  143 

tend  with  more  powerful  than  his  own.  After  pro- 
posing terms  of  peace  he  returned  to  London.  He 
was  driven  to  the  necessity  of  caUing  a  meeting  of 
Parhament  by  reason  of  the  expense  of  his  cam- 
paign. Parhament,  having  refused  to  grant  sup- 
pHes  unless  there  was  a  redress  of  grievances,  the 
king  dismissed  it  and  again  raised  money  by  illegal 
methods  of  taxation. 

The  Scotch,  having  heard  that  he  had  violated 
his  terms  of  peace  with  them,  renewed  war  with 
him. 

He  was  compelled  to  call  a  Parliament  and  yield 
to  their  demands.  They  stripped  him  of  so  much 
power  that  he  determined  to  contend  for  his  rights 
by  the  use  of  the  sw^ord. 

About  this  time  petitions  were  sent  from  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  kingdom,  urging  a  reformation  of 
the  church  and  the  abolition  of  the  hierarchy  as 
established.  The  resolution  to  abolish  the  hier- 
archial  system  and  call  an  assembly  of  divines  as 
an  advisory  court  passed  both  houses  of  Parlia- 
ment September  i,  1640.  November  5,  1643,  was 
designated  as  the  day  when  the  government  of  the 
church  by  archbishops,  bishops,  deans,  chapters, 
etc.,  should  cease. 

In  the  following  June  an  ordinance  was  passed, 
calling  an  assembly  to  meet  at  Westminster  July 
I,  1643.  The  assembly  was  composed,  at  first,  of 
one    hundred    and    twenty-one    divines,    ten    lords 


144  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

and  twenty  commons.  All  of  these  were  communi- 
cants in  the  Church  of  England,  and  all  the  min- 
isters had  received  Episcopal  ordination. 

Parliament  deeming  it  well  to  have  the  Church 
of  Scotland  represented,  sent  commissioners  to 
Edinburg,  and  invited  the  General  Assembly  and 
the  Convention  of  Estates  to  send  representatives 
to  Westminster.  The  Scotch  so  greatly  feared 
prelacy,  that  the  only  condition  on  which  they  con- 
sented to  accept  the  invitation,  was  that  the  Parlia- 
ment and  the  Assembly  adopt  the  Solemn  League 
and  Covenant. 

After  this  document  was  signed  by  Parliament 
and  the  Assembly,  the  Church  of  Scotland  sent  six 
representatives  to  Westminster.  They  engaged  in 
the  debates  but  were  not  allowed  to  vote. 

The  Confession  and  other  standards  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  were  adopted  by  members  of  the 
established  Church  of  England.  There  was  no  ob- 
jection, either  among  the  members  of  Parliament 
or  the  members  of  the  Assembly,  to  any  of  the  doc- 
trines contained  in  the  Westminster  Confession  and 
Catechism.  If  there  were  any  among  the  members 
of  these  two  bodies  besides  Calvinists,  it  was  not 
known. 

Every  one  before  taking  his  seat  in  the  Assem- 
bly was  required  to  take  a  vow  to  the  effect  that  he 
would  not  maintain  anything  in  point  of  doctrine 
but  what  he  believed  to  be  most  agreeable  to  the 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  145 

Word  of  the  Lord,  nor  in  point  of  discipline  but 
what  he  conceived  to  conduce  most  to  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  good  and  the  peace  of  His  church. 

That  there  might  be  a  form  of  church  govern- 
ment generally  accepted,  members  of  each  denomina- 
tion were  selected.  After  the  Solemn  League  and 
Covenant  was  signed,  there  were  in  the  Assembly  no 
direct  supporters  of  prelacy.  Most  of  the  members 
of  the  Assembly  favored  the  Presbyterian  form 
of  church  government.  The  Erastians  formed  a 
second  party.  They  held  that  all  discipline  be- 
longed to  the  civil  magistrate — that  ministers  should 
only  teach  and  administer  the  sacraments.  They 
had  powerful  friends  in  Parliament,  but  met  with 
little  favor  in  the  Assembly.  It  is  natural  that  they 
should  have  found  friends  in  Parliament.  Having 
suffered  so  much  from  prelatic  tyranny,  they  greatly 
feared  all  ecclesiastical  power.  Moreover,  their  de- 
sire to  have  all  power  in  their  own  hands  greatly  in- 
fluenced them  to  favor  the  views  of  the  Erastians. 

The  Congregationalists,  a  third  party,  controlled 
only  twelve  votes  in  the  Assembly.  Their  position 
was  that  all  power  belonged  to  each  separate  con- 
gregation. Since  church  government  was  all  that 
occasioned  any  controversy,  let  us  take  note  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  Assembly  in  connection  with 
that  matter. 

A  short  while  after  the  House  of  Commons  had 
taken  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  and  while 


146  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

the  thirty-nine  articles  of  the  Church  of  England 
were  being  discussed  by  the  Assembly,  they  were 
ordered  by  both  houses  of  Parliament  to  direct  their 
attention  to  the  important  topics  of  discipline,  a 
directory  of  worship  and  church  government.  Their 
first  work,  a  directory  of  worship,  was  adopted  by 
Parliament  and  substituted  in  many  congregations 
for  the  liturgy  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 

When  the  subject  of  church  government  was 
brought  up  for  discussion,  it  was  decided  that  they 
should  consider  first  church  ofificers. 

Committees  were  appointed  to  prepare  the  sub- 
ject for  discussion.  One  of  the  committees  reported 
that  in  inquiring  after  the  officers  belonging  to  the 
Church  of  the  New  Testament,  they  found  that 
many  of  the  names  of  church  officers  were  attributed 
to  Christ.  Another  committee  reported  that  the 
following  officers  were  mentioned  in  Scripture — 
Apostles,  Evangelists,  Prophets,  pastors,  teachers, 
bishops  or  overseers,  presbyters  and  deacons.  There 
was  some  opposition  on  the  part  of  Goodwin,  an 
influential  Independent,  but  his  objections  were 
overruled  and  the  reports  approved. 

The  same  committee  reported  that  the  office  of 
the  Apostles  was  declared  to  be  only  pro  tempore 
and  extraordinary  for  the  seven  following  reasons : 
1st.  They  were  immediately  called  by  Christ.  2nd. 
They  had  seen  Christ.  3rd.  Their  commission  was 
through  the  whole  world.     4th.  They  were  imbued 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  147 

with  the  spirit  of  infalHbiHty  in  dehvering  truths 
of  the  doctrine  to  the  churches.  5th.  They  only 
by  special  commission  were  set  apart  to  be  personal 
witnesses  of  Christ's  resurrection.  6th.  They  had 
power  to  give  the  Holy  Ghost  and  were  appointed 
to  go  through  the  world  to  settle  churches  in  a  new 
form  appointed  by  Christ.  7th.  They  had  the  in- 
spection and  care  of  all  churches.  The  only  objec- 
tion that  was  made  to  this  report  was  made  by 
Goodwin,  and  his  objection  was  mainly  as  regards 
the  power  of  the  Apostles  to  settle  churches.  He 
saw  that  if  he  admitted  this  power,  even  in  the 
Apostles,  he  would  condemn  the  practice  of  Inde- 
pendents in  forming  themselves  into  churches  and 
appointing  their  own  officers.  All  the  objections 
made  to  the  reports  of  the  committees  were  over- 
ruled and  the  reports  were  approved.  The  subject 
of  ruling  elders  was  next  discussed  by  the  Assem- 
bly. After  a  discussion  of  many  days,  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  draw  up  a  statement  as  to  how 
far  all  parties  agreed.  The  report  of  this  com- 
mittee contained  these  propositions. 

I.  Christ  hath  instituted  a  government  and  gov- 
ernors ecclesiastical  in  His  churches.  2.  Christ  hath 
furnished  some  in  His  churches  with  gifts  for  gov- 
ernment and  with  commission  to  exercise  the  same 
when  called  thereto.  3.  It  is  agreeable  to  and  war- 
ranted by  the  Word  of  God  that  some  others,  be- 
sides the  ministers  of  the  Word  should  join  with 


148  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

the  ministers  in  the  government  of  the  church.  The 
first  and  second  propositions  were  approved  with- 
out opposition,  and  the  third  with  only  the  negative 
vote  of  Lightfoot  an  Erastian.  The  office  of  the 
deacon  was  next  discussed.  Some  were  of  the 
opinion  that  it  was  not  permanent.  When  the  As- 
sembly decided  that  it  was  permanent  there  was 
only  one  negative  vote. 

Ordination  and  discipline  was  next  discussed  by 
the  Assembly.  On  the  9th  of  January,  1644,  the 
whole  question  of  ordination  was  in  the  following 
words,  stated  by  the  chairman  of  one  of  the  com- 
mittees. I.  Ordination  is  the  solemn  setting  apart 
of  a  person  to  some  public  office  in  the  church.  2. 
It  is  necessarily  to  be  continued  in  the  church.  3. 
The  Apostles  ordained,  Evangelists  did,  preaching 
elders  did.  Because  Apostles  and  Evangelists  are 
officers  extraordinary  and  not  to  continue  in  the 
church,  and  since  in  Scripture  we  find  ordination  in 
no  other  hands  we  conceive  that  preaching  elders 
are  only  to  ordain.  The  first  and  second  proposi- 
tions and  all  of  the  third  except  the  latter  part  of 
it  were  affirmed  without  much  opposition.  After 
the  Assembly  completed  the  doctrinal  part  of 
ordination,  they  proceeded  to  form  a  directory  as 
to  how  it  should  be  conducted.  A  committee  was 
appointed  to  prepare  it  for  debate.  Their  report 
was  given  in  and  ratified  on  the  19th  of  April,  and 
the  next  day  laid  before  both  houses  of  Parliament. 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  149 

Some  alterations  were  made  by  Parliament,  but 
after  an  address  made  to  the  Grand  Committee  of 
Lords,  Commons  and  the  Assembly  condemning 
the  alterations,  the  Assembly  directory  of  ordina- 
tion was  returned  unchanged.  Presbytery  was  next 
discussed  by  the  Assembly.  The  arguments  for 
and  against  it,  time  will  not  permit  us  to  notice. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  after  a  long  and  thorough  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject,  a  committee  appointed  to  find 
out  how  far  all  parties  agreed,  gave  in  a  report  which 
showed  that  little  more  was  necessary  to  bring  about 
a  complete  agreement.  Baillie  in  speaking  of  it, 
used  the  following  words :  ''We  have  agreed  on 
five  or  six  propositions,  hoping  by  God's  grace 
to  agree  on  more.  They  yield  that  a  Presbytery, 
even  as  we  take  it,  is  an  ordinance  of  God,  which 
hath  power  and  authority  from  Christ  to  call  the 
ministers  and  elders  or  any  in  their  bounds  before 
them  to  account  for  any  offence  in  life  or  doctrine, 
to  try  and  examine  the  cause,  to  admonish  and  re- 
buke, and  if  they  be  obstinate,  to  declare  them  as 
heathen  and  publicans,  and  give  them  over  to  the 
punishment  of  the  magistrates,  also  doctrinally  to 
declare  the  mind  of  God  in  all  questions  of  religion, 
with  such  authority  as  obliges  them  to  receive  their 
just  sentences,  and  that  they  will  be  members  of 
such  fixed  Presbyteries,  keep  the  meetings,  preach 
as  it  comes  to  their  turn  and  join  in  the  discipline 
after  doctrine." 


150  The  Law  and  the  Gospel 

The  Erastian  controversy  deserves  our  atten- 
tion, but  since  this  paper  should  not  be  concluded 
w^ithout  an  account  of  the  last  labors  of  the  Assem- 
bly, this  controversy  must  go  unnoticed. 

It  was  towards  the  close  of  the  year  1644  that 
the  Assembly  began  to  make  preparation  for  com- 
posing a  confession  of  Faith  and  a  Catechism. 
Little,  however,  was  done  in  that  direction  till  to- 
wards the  end  of  May,  1645.  The  Shorter  Catechism 
was  laid  before  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  5th 
of  November,  1647,  ^^^^  the  Larger  on  the  14th 
of  April,  1648.  On  the  15th  of  September,  1648,  an 
order  was  issued  by  Parliament  commanding  that 
they  be  printed  for  public  use.  There  was  little  dif- 
ference of  opinion  as  to  the  doctrinal  questions 
found  in  the  Confession  and  Catechisms.  These 
questions  were  carefully  and  prayerfully  considered. 
Scripture  proofs  were  added  both  to  the  Confes- 
sion and  Catechisms.  Most  of  the  members  of  the 
Assembly  were  Calvinists.  There  were,  however, 
in  the  body  Supralapsarians  and  Sublapsarians. 
But  they  did  nothing  but  what  they  believed  was 
in  accordance  with  the  Word  of  God  and  would 
tend  to  His  honor  and  glory. 

Though  the  king,  by  proclamation,  forbade  the 
Assembly,  and  though  many  dangers  threatened 
them,  they  spared  neither  time  nor  effort  to  bring 
God's  church  from  under  the  yoke  of  prelatic  ty- 
ranny.   When  they  met  there  were  few  theological 


The  Law  and  the  Gospel  151 

questions  that  had  not  been  discussed.  A  more 
learned  and  conscientious  body  of  men  never  met. 
Their  views  on  doctrinal  and  ecclesiastical  questions 
were  the  views  of  the  wisest  and  purest  men  of  that 
age,  both  in  England  and  on  the  continent,  after 
more  than  a  century  of  earnest  controversy.  And 
their  work,  because  it  rests  upon  God's  Word  as  its 
foundation,  commands  the  highest  admiration  of 
all  minds  and  hearts  that  are  capable  of  appreciat- 
ing its  excellence. 

When  the  Confession,  Catechisms,  form  of  gov- 
ernment and  discipline  were  laid  before  Parliament 
and  adopted,  the  work  for  which  the  Assembly  had 
been  called  was  accomplished.  This  was  all  done 
after  the  Assembly  had  deliberated  for  more  than 
four  years. 

Parliament  required  them  to  continue  in  session 
while  they  were  negotiating  with  the  king  for  the 
settlement  of  all  church  questions  that  they  might 
give  advice  in  any.  emergency  that  might  arise. 

They  maintained  their  formal  existence  till  the 
22nd  of  February,  1649,  about  three  weeks  after  the 
king's  decapitation,  having  sat  five  years,  six  months 
and  twenty-two  days,  during  which  time  they  held 
one  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-three  sessions. 


